Adrift part 3
by closet-hopeless-romantic
Summary: what i wished had happened after adrift part 2! HM fluff eventually!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it, although owning a bit of DJE would be nice!! ;-)

This is my first JAG fic, but please check out my west wing and csi fics if they take your fancy. As always, apologies if my language comes of a bit odd, I'm English!

Hope you all enjoy it! I'll keep posting chapters as long as people want to read them so please review!!!!

What SHOULD have happened after Adrift part 2

Chapter 1

Renee's Family Home

"Harm, we need to talk." a voice said from somewhere behind him. Harm had been staying at Renee's parent's house for the last 2 days, trying to help them following the death of Renee's father the day he got out of hospital. He looked up at Renee as she came round and sat next to him on the sofa, taking the papers he was reading out of his hands and placing them on the table.

"Sure Renee, what's up?" He said, reaching out to put his arm around her. To his surprise she moved back slightly, avoiding his embrace. It was then that he looked directly at her face, and was surprised by the resolve that he saw in them.

"I don't think we should see each other anymore." Renee said, looking down at her hands. "I think that after Dad's funeral is over, we shouldn't see each other for a while, and after that, just be friends." Harm just looked at her.

"Renee..." he started

"Don't Harm, I've made up my mind. I'm not the one you want, and trust me Harm, she wants you too. I'm not going to stay knowing that all your life you will still partly be in love with her." Harm opened his mouth to respond. "Don't you dare say you don't know who I mean." Renee carried on, correctly interpreting the look in his eyes. At the surprised look on his face, Renee smiled, "at least it seems that I know you a little bit."

Harm hesitated,

"I don't know what to say." He said

"Don't say anything," Rene replied, "Just be my friend, and help me through this. Then, tell Mac how you feel." Harm looked away, ashamed, and nodded.

"I'm so sorry Renee. I don't deserve you, you've been so good to me, you deserve better than me." He said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a hug, feeling surprised at how relieved he felt.

Mac's apartment

"So Ma'am, have you heard from the Commander since he's been gone?" Harriet asked hesitatingly.

"Harriet, how many times have I told you to cal me Mac when we're off duty!" Mac replied in mock exasperation. Harriet blushed, and giggled,

"Sorry, Mac, old habits die hard I guess…" she hesitated, "So have you?" she repeated

"Yes, once when he landed." Mac replied with a small smile, "he wanted to know if I wanted to fly to Australia and kick Mic's arse for me!" Harriet laughed, noting how much Mac's face lit up at the mention of Harm's name.

"That sounds just like the Commander! According to Bud he's been wanting to do that ever since Sydney!" Harriet stopped, looking quickly at Mac as she realized what she had said, "Sorry Mac, that was insensitive." Mac smiled weakly at her.

"Its ok Harriet, its not like Harm was ever any good at hiding his feelings about Mic. And right now I almost wish I had listened to him."

Mac and Harriet were having a girly night, complete with pizza, chick flicks and copious amounts of chocolate. When she had left Harm's that night, she had turned up on Harriet and Bud's doorstep, sopping wet, and grateful that the rain was hiding her tears. Unfortunately for her however, the rain couldn't cover up her red eyes, and Harriet had spotted them immediately and, shooing Bud out of the room had sat with Mac while she told her the whole story. Since then, Harriet had been continuously checking on Mac and had suggested a girly night to take her mind of everything, with the secret intent of getting Mac to face up to and admit her feelings for Harm. _It was such a shame_, she had thought on her drive to Mac's apartment, _the sparks between those two are so obvious, everyone who has ever met them has seen it. But they are so darn stubborn. I really hope that this will be the wake up call they need. _

"Have I told you about the next fundraiser we are having?" Harriet asked, changing the subject to something as far away from Brumby as possible.

"I've heard rumours," Mac admitted with a small smile, "I take it I'm about to be convinced to take part in it?!" Harriet offered her her most innocent smile,

"Ma'am...Mac as if I would ever do such a thing!" they both laughed.

"So tell me," Mac prompted, "Before I get shanghaied into doing something I'll regret!"

"It's going to be a JAG version of American Idol!" Mac inhaled sharply as she took a sip of her diet coke, coughing violently as she choked on its contents.

"You…you want us to sing?!" she asked, wiping tears out of her eyes, a look of great amusement on her face.

"Well, you do have such a lovely voice, I think you would be a shoo-in to win!" Harriet replied with a grin. Mac rolled her eyes at the flattery, and sighed.

"Well I guess I don't really have a choice in the matter, of course I'll sing."

"Thank you!" Harriet grinned, "Do you think you could convince the Commander to sing too?" she added with an impish grin.

"The Squid??!" Mac asked, a gentle smile flashing across her features, "leave him to me!"

"How do you think he and Renee are doing?" Harriet asked, deciding to press her just a little, noting once more the slight flicker of disgust that was swiftly chased away by a more neutral expression at the mention of Harm's blonde girlfriend.

"I'm sure they're doing just fine, Harm will take good care of her." Mac replied, unwilling to say anymore, for fear of someone making her face up to the turmoil she felt inside at the thought of Harm and Renee together when Harm was really hers. Mac froze suddenly, had she just really thought that!?!

Harriet noticed her friend seemed to have frozen, "Mac, Mac," she exclaimed, reaching out a hand and touching her shoulder, "are you ok?" Mac looked up, startled,

"Yes, sorry Harriet, I'm fine, I just spaced out there for a minute, its been a stressful few days" Mac replied hastily, trying to shake that thought out of her head. _Don't be stupid Mac, he's not yours, and he never has been_ she mentally berated herself.

"Can I ask you a question?" Harriet asked, hesitatingly, and seeing Mac's slight nod of assent, took a deep breath and plowed on, "You can tell me mind my own business if you like, but, do you love him? Harm I mean?" At that moment, Mac's phone rang, and, glancing down at the Caller ID she saw that it was the man in question. "Excuse me a minute Harriet," Mac replied, offering her friend a smile to make it clear that she wasn't mad, as she had noticed the nervous look on Harriet's face. With that, she hopped up, and wondered quickly into the kitchen, answering her phone as she went,

"What can I do for you flyboy?" she asked good-naturedly, forcing the pain she had felt out of her mind.

"Renee broke up with me" Harm replied. Mac's heart skipped a beat, _damn it Marine. Get a hold on yourself!_ She mentally shook herself once again forcing her inner turmoil into hiding, merely replying,

"oh Harm, I'm so sorry, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm alright, I'll be coming back home in a couple of days, could you let everybody know for me?"

"No worries Squid" Mac replied teasingly

"What about you Ninja Girl, how are you holding up?" Harm asked, the concern evident in his voice,

"I'm doing better thanks, Harriet has been looking after me! She's here at the moment for a girly night" Mac replied with a grin, "Wait til you hear what she planned for the next fundraiser!" Harm groaned, as much as he loved Harriet, and was more than happy to help out for charity, each fundraiser seemed to have him doing more and more embarrassing things, and he did enough stupid things himself without having these events to increase his emabarassment!

"You'll love it!" Mac continued, "I've already signed you up!"

"Maaaaccccc!" Harm whined

"Don't start Flyboy" Mac laughed, "Anyways I should probably get back to Harriet."

"Sure thing Marine, I'll call you when I get back"

"Ok speak soon," Mac hesitated, "Oh and Harm?"

"Yeah?"

"You're a good guy. Call me if you need anything ok?"

"You got it" click the line went dead. Mac smiled to herself, and went back to the lounge where she found Harriet happily munching on a cold slice of pizza.

"Sorry about that," she said, sitting herself back down on the sofa and reaching for the chocolate, "now, where were we?"

Should I continue? Let me know¬!!!


	2. Chapter 2

Firstly, Thank you so much for all of your lovely reviews, I'm glad you all enjoyed the first bit. I'm not convinced by this second bit (it's a little bit confused and higgledy-piggledy,) but hopefully you'll enjoy it! I know where I'm going with this, but I seem to jumping around a bit before I get there!!

Song is "Complicated" by Carolyn Dawn Johnson. I don't own that, or anything related to JAG. (although I repeat my wish for DJE!)

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Mac's Apartment, the same evening

"Do you love him Mac?" Harriet repeated nervously as Mac reclaimed her seat and reached for the bag of Peanut Butter M&Ms from the table _(AN: those things are just the best chocolate that you guys have over there, I wish they sold them here!!)_ Mac looked Harriet in the eye and sighed.

"Yes" she admitted quietly, looking quickly back down at the floor, "but Harriet, please, you can't tell anyone, not even Bud. There's too much going on right now, and I don't want to deal with Harm at the moment." Harriet looked at her calmly, accepting her friends request without thinking.

"Well I'm here if you need to talk or think out loud or something, I'm always on the end of the phone." She said, reaching out for the pile of dvds that sat on the table in front of her. "So what'll it be?! The Lake House, or Two Weeks Notice?" Mac offered her a grateful smile, replying

"The Lake House, we've already had a Hugh Grant film tonight!"

That night, after Harriet had returned home to Bud and baby AJ, Mac climbed into bed, and flicked on the radio, knowing tonight, like the last couple, she would have trouble sleeping. She had found that music helped to slow, or at least drown out the thoughts that were continuously racing through her head. She wasn't mad at Harm for leaving her out in the rain to comfort Renee. She knew she should be, but something inside her told her that they were going to be ok, that their friendship was still intact. The two phone calls she had already received from Harm showed her that. But what as for what she had admitted earlier to Harriet, she had no idea. No idea what to think, what do, or what to say.

**Flashback**

**_"Come to me."_**

_**"Why?"**_

_**"You know why."**_

_He was just trying to be my friend, trying to support me like best friends do_ she told herself, rolling over and punching the pillow on the other side of her bed, trying to focus on the music as she did so. Lying there in the darkness, she let her mind wander, unconsciously focusing on the lyrics of the song on the radio.

I'm so scared that the way that I feel is written all over my face

When you walk into the room I wanna find a hiding place.

We used to laugh, we used to hug, the way that old friends do.

But now a smile and the touch of your hand just makes me come unglued.

It's such a contradiction

Do I lie or tell the truth?

Is it fact or fiction?

Oh, the way I feel for you.

It's so complicated

I'm so frustrated,

I wanna hold you close, I wanna push you away,

I wanna make you go, I wanna make you stay.

Should I say it?

Should I tell you how I feel?

Oh, I want you to know, but then again I don't,

It's so complicated.

Mac sighed, and rolled over again, that summed them up so perfectly. Always something in the way, unnecessary complications, fear, uncertainty. As she listened to the rest of the song, a couple of tears slipped down her face. It was almost as if the song was writing her and Harm's relationship to music. It was at that point she realized that she had found her song for the fundraiser.

JAG Headquarters, 0855 Monday

Harm stood looking up at the building in front of him, a look of trepidation marring his handsome face. He was a little nervous. A lot had happened since the last time he had been in there, the day he had left to do his quals before Mac's wedding: Mac had called off her wedding, he'd almost died, he and Mac had almost had a chance to discuss the issues that they had been skirting around for the last 4 years, the whole business with Renee.

"Are you planning on standing there all day Squid?!" Mac's teasing

voice came from behind him. He turned slightly, and saw a grinning marine Colonel looking at him while clutching a cup of coffee and a Danish pastry. He grinned back, a slightly nervous version of the flyboy smile that Mac loved so much.

"Just trying to prepare myself for the state of my inbox!" he replied, looking down at the pastry with a slight look of disgust. He and Mac bickered so often about their differing eating habits that Mac correctly interpreted his look, and took a bite out of the pastry, making an exaggerated show of enjoying it,

"Want some flyboy?!" she asked teasingly.

"No thanks ninja girl, I like my arteries unclogged thanks!" he

replied, winking at her.

"You don't know what you're missing!" Mac said, "Anyway, we should get

in there - staff meeting with the Admiral at 0900."

"Colonel Mackenzie and Commander Rabb reporting as ordered sir!" Tiner

said, as they followed him into the Admiral's office, standing to attention in front of his desk.

"Thank you Tiner, that will be all." The Admiral replied, "at ease Commander, Colonel." Harm and Mac relaxed their poses slightly, and were surprised when the Admiral got up and walked around his desk, "Good to have you back Commander" he said reaching out his hand to shake Harm's.

"Thank you sir, its good to be back!" Harm replied

"Now Commander, you have enough paper work to keep you busy until Christmas, so I won't add any cases to your pile just yet!" The Admiral said with a smile, "Colonel, you're due in court this morning am I right?"

"Yes sir" Mac replied, opening her mouth to say something more, when there was a knock at the door. Both her and Harm jumped to their feet, preparing to come to attention/be dismissed so that the Admiral could deal with his visitor.

"At ease, both of you, I wanted you here for this." He said, calmly, before raising his voice and calling "Enter!"

A handsome African-American man in Navy dress whites came into the room,

"Commander (? I don't know what rank Sturgis is) Turner reporting for duty sir!" he said, standing to attention and saluting the Admiral.

"At ease Commander!" the Admiral repeated, sneaking a glance at Harm, who looked suitably shocked.

"Sturgis!" he exclaimed, "what the hell are you doing here buddy!"

"I've been assigned here, I'm afraid you're stuck with me!" Sturgis replied. Mac looked at him in interest, _so this was Sturgis_ she thought. She'd heard so much about him from Harm, it was nice to finally put a face to the name.

"Commander Turner, obviously you know Commander Rabb. This is Colonel Mackenzie, the Commander's partner." Admiral Chegwidden intoned, interrupting Macs thought.

"A pleasure to meet you Commander." Mac replied with a smile, offering Sturgis her hand.

"Likewise Colonel. I look forward to working with you" Sturgis replied.

"Well Commander, I'll leave the Commander and the Colonel to show you around" said Chegwidden, "dismissed!" The three officers came to attention, turned and left theor CO's office.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you Sturgis, your name has come up in conversation repeatedly!" Mac said, winking at Harm, "But I'm afraid I'm due in court." She smiled, and headed towards her office before turning and sending a cheeky smile Harm's way, "enjoy your paperwork squid! Don't strain your brain while you're at it!"

"Very funny Jarhead!" Harm replied, glancing quickly around the bullpen before poking his tongue out at her. Mac rolled her eyes and imitated his gesture and carrying on her way. Sturgis just stood there, watching their exchange with a kind of bemused amusement. He would have to remember to quiz Harm about their relationship at a later date.

Well?? All reviews are appreciated! (good or bad, I like to know what you guys think!!!)


	3. Chapter 3

Firstly, thank you all for you reviews . I'm glad you are still enjoying it, and I hope you'll all continue to do so!

To the reviewer who mentioned that Sturgis would have had some reaction to how much Mac looks like Dianne – Thank you for bringing it up! I have only recently started watching jag, in the middle of the 6th series, so have missed a lot and all that I know bout Dianne comes from reading fanfic which is why it didn't occur to me to put something like that in! I'll try and put a bit in about that either this chapter or the next. 

Also it has been brought to my attention that referring to Sturgis as "coloured" could be taken as racist by some people – a thousand apologies for this, it definitely was not my intention, as where I'm from that is not considered insulting or rude. However, to avoid any upset I will change that bit of chapter 2 when I come to post this chapter!

Song number one is 'How am I supposed to live without you" by Michael Bolton

Song number two, 'Crazy Love' by Rod Stewart

JAG Headquarters

Harm was sat at his desk, going through the mountains of emails that had piled up in his absence. He was so glad to be back at JAG, thrilled to see Sturgis, and relieved that he and Mac were getting on ok seeing as he had all but abandoned her in her time of need to comfort Renee. Momentarily distracted from the boring task in front of him, he allowed his mind to drift to Mac. His Mac. _We were getting so close. _ He thought. _So many misunderstandings, so many mistakes. When will we get our shot at making right?! I never thought that Renee would be the one to step back, even though I think we both knew that once Mac finished with Mic it was over between us. _Sitting there, at his desk, his mind jumped back to a time shortly after Mac had swapped Mic's ring from her right to her left hand. He had felt a part of him die that day, knowing that it was he who had pushed her right into Mic's arms.

**FLASHBACK**

**Harm was sat in his office, the radio on in the background. He couldn't concentrate, all he could think about was Mac's announcement the previous day. _How can she be marrying Bugme?! _He thought, _God, this is all my fault, Rabb, you are without a doubt the stupidest man on this earth! _Suddenly, the song on the radio caught his attention. **

**I could hardly believe it, when I heard the news today**

**I had to come and get it straight from you**

**They said you were leavin', someone's swept your heart away**

**From the look uponyour face I see it's true**

**So tell me all about it, tell me 'bout the plans you're makin'**

**Oh, then tell me one thing more before I go**

**CHORUS:**

**Tell me how am I supposed to live without you**

**Now that I've been lovin' you so long**

**How am I supposed to live without you**

**And how am I supposed to carry on**

**When all that I've been livin' for is gone**

**I'm too proud for cryin', didn't come here to break down**

**It's just a dream of mine is coming to an end**

**And how can I blame you when I built my world around**

**The hope that one day we'd be so much more than friends**

**I don't wanna know the price I'm gonna pay for dreaming, oh**

**Even now it's more than I can take**

**There was a knock at the door, and Harm jumped, alarmed to find a couple of tears running down his face. The song had really struck a chord with him, he just wish he knew what he could do. The knock at the door sounded again. **

"**Harm?" Mac's voice came clearly through the door, "Are you in their" Harm quickly brushed the tears away, calling,**

"**Come in Mac!"**

"**Are you ok sailor?" she asked, hesitantly stepping into the room. "I haven't see you all day, wanna get some dinner?"**

"**Are you sure your fiancé won't mind?" Harm asked, the disgust evident in his voice when he said the word fiancé.**

"**Dammit Harm!" Mac exclaimed, "You're my best friend, why can't you be happy for me!"**

"**I'll be happy when you're happy." He had replied, "Tell me you're truly happy Mac."**

"**I'm truly happy" she replied, looking at his face, but refusing to meet his eyes.**

**He sighed, he knew she wasn't telling him the whole truth, but he didn't have the strength to push it.**

"**The I'm happy for you." He replied, "Come on ninja girl, let me buy you dinner!"**

"**Shall we go to the Chinese?" Mac asked, as they headed out of JAG headquarters.**

"**Sure, I'll drive, hop in!" **

Back in the present, Harm sighed, _It was time, _he decided, _Time to act. Mac still isn't happy, for both our sakes I need to fix it. Fix the damage I did back in Australia. _Once again his attention was captured by the radio that he had playing softly in the background.

I can hear her heart beat from a thousand miles

And the heaven opens everytime she smiles

And when I come to her that's where I belong

Yet I run into her like a river's song

She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love

She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love

She got a fine sense of humour when I'm feeling low down

And when I come to her when the sun goes down

Take away my trouble, take away my grief

Take away my heartache in the night like a theif

She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love

She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love

And I need her in the daytime

And I need her in the night

And I want to throw my arms around her

Kiss and hug her, kiss and hug her tight

And when I'm returning from so far away

She give me some sweet lovin', brighten up my day

Yet it makes me righteous, yes it makes me whole

Yet it makes me mellow down into my soul

She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love

She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love

She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love

She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love

As he listened to Rod Stewert's gravely voice, his mind flashing through a million and one memories of Mac, he realised, just as unbeknownst to him the previous night Mac had, he had found his song for Harriet's charity fundraiser. Once again he was interrupted from his thoughts by a knock at the door, and Sturgis' head appeared.

"You busy buddy?" he asked, noting the faraway look in his friends eye. Sturgis had known Harm a long time, and could read his looks as well as Mac. This one was definitely over a girl. And Sturgis had a pretty good idea as to which particular girl it could be.

"Being drowned by bureaucracy!" Harm replied with a grin. "Come on in, have a seat!"

"Nice office!" Sturgis replied, as he sat down, noticing and reaching for a framed picture that sat on Harm's desk.

"Is that you and Mac?" He asked, "Where were you?"

"Afghanistan" Harm replies, smiling.

"Do you know," Sturgis started, putting the picture back on the desk, "When I met you guys in the office this morning, I was shocked at how much Mac looks like Dianne."

"I know," Harm replied, "It caused us a few teething problems when we first started working together! When we met, I thought I had seen a ghost! It was an even scarier experience than what I had been through earlier that day!" Sturgis looked at him. There was clearly something to that story.

"Where did you two meet exactly?"

"The White House Rose Garden!" Harm responded with a slightly wistful smile, "just after I had got my first DFC." Sturgis laughed.

"Wow, that's a story and a half to tell the grandkids!" Harm laughed at that.

"Is this the part where you start to quiz me on my love life buddy!?!"

"Well?!" Sturgis replied, his eyes sparkling. "I take it the two of you ARE dating?!" Harm rolled his eyes,

"No Sturgis we're not dating. She was due to get married last week, that's all over now, her ex-fiancé has gone back to Australia."

"Why did she call off the wedding?" Sturgis asked interestedly, the exchange he had witness earlier told him that it had to be something to do with Harm.

"The plane I was flying went down in the Atlantic when I was on my way back to the mainland for her wedding. No-one knew if I was dead or alive. When they found me alive, I don't know exactly what happened, but they decided not to set a new date, and Mic left to go back to Australia." Harm said, withholding the slightly more personal details of the story, in an attempt to avoid Sturgis' usual tactic of incessant questions until he got the response he wanted.

"He left her?" Sturgis asked, surprised. He had figured that Mac would have been the one to leave. Given the looks that had passed between them during the one exchange that Sturgis had witnessed, it was clear that Mac was crazy about Harm. And the protectiveness in his town as he had explained the situation to him suggested that Harm felt the same way. He looked Harm straight in the eye. "You love her….don't you?"

"Of course I love her, she's my best friend." Harm replied, looking down at his hands.

"Uh-uh buddy, this is me, I KNOW you! You are crazy about her! Don't even bother denying it!"

"Fine," Harm said, "yes, yes I love her."

"And have you told her?"

"I haven't had the chance." Harm sighed, "The day Mic left, she was coming over to see me when my then girlfriend turned up on my doorstep because her father had died. Mac insisted that I shouldn't worry about her and that I should stay and help Renee. She said we would have plenty of chances to talk when I got back."

"And have you?" Sturgis pressed.

"Today's my first day back." Harm admitted, "We spoke on the phone a couple of times when I was at Renee's, but we haven't had the chance yet."

"What's stopping you?"

"Let's just say, we've been through a lot, Mac and I, and I don't want to push her before she's ready."

"Ok buddy, well just don't wait too long ok? Come on, it's the end of the day, lets go and get a drink" Sturgis suggested, getting to his feet.

"I won't" Harm all but muttered under his breath as he followed Sturgis out of his office.

McMurphy's Bar

Harm followed Sturgis into the bar, and spotted the rest of the JAG crew sitting in their usual corner.

"Welcome back Harm!" they all chorused as they approached the table.

"Here sir," Tiner said, jumping to his feet, "You can have my seat!" Harm smiled at him,

"Thanks Tiner," he replied, sliding into the booth next to Mac, giving her his best flyboy grin. "Hey Jarhead!" Mac grinned back, almost flirtatiously,

"Hey yourself Squid! How was your first day back? Ready to run screaming back to the hospital yet?!"

"Only now I've seen you ninja girl!" he replied, teasingly, the huge grin on his face reassuring her that he was only kidding.

"Nice flyboy, nice! If you want to go back so bad, I'd be happy to kick your six back there!!" Mac countered, with a grin. The rest of the group exchanged amused glances, each of them wondering whether the two lawyers realised they were there. AJ cleared his throat,

"Harm, on behalf of all of us, I'd like to say welcome back, we're so glad to see you back safe and sound! And for the love of god, next time you're flying in bad weather please do your best to not fly STRAIGHT THROUGH a storm!!" The group laughed, but Sturgis noticed a flicker of sadness flash across Mac's face before she joined in the laughter.

"So," Harriet started, "Now that I've got you all here, I'd like to talk about the next fundraiser I've been planning." She looked around the table like a hopeful child, "It's going to be a mini version of American Idol!" Those in the group who had yet to hear this idea groaned slightly. They knew from experience that Harriet wouldn't let them get away with not participating. "I'll expect you to let me know which songs you'll be singing by next Monday night. The competition will take place next Friday. You'll be pleased to know that the guys from NCIS will be joining us for it. And it goes without saying that we have to beat them!!"

Thanks for reading!!!

I'll update soon, let me know what u think, or if I'm missing anything. I'm always open to new plot ideas!


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks again to all of you who have left me such lovely reviews :-) i hope you'll enjoy this installment!

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McMurphy's Bar, the same evening

Throughout the evening, while Sturgis was getting to know his new work colleagues, he kept on eye on Harm and Mac whenever they were together…which was pretty much the whole evening. Their relationship intrigued him. There was obviously a lot going on beneath the surface, his conversation with Harm had enlightened him to that. And yet, they still seemed almost completely in sync, even though at times he noticed almost identical looks of longing and sadness flickering across their faces. He wondered what the others thought of their relationship. Certainly none of them batted an eyelid when Harm causally wrapped his arm around Mac's shoulder. Or when they sat in the corner of the booth chatting for the better part of an hour, paying no attention to the people around them. Or when Harm started on Mac's half finished drink when he had finished his own. It was only later on that Sturgis noticed any reaction amongst his colleagues to the way Harm and Mac acted. On he way back to the table form the bar, Mac was approached by a tall dark-haired guy asking her to dance. After a brief moment of hesitation she agreed, and after putting her and Harm's drinks on the table and offering him a brief smile, she turned and followed the dark-haired guy on to the dance floor. Sturgis noticed Harriet and Bud exchange amused glances at the look on Harm's face. While Mac could see him, he appeared relaxed and unbothered, but the moment her back was turned, daggers were shooting out of his eyes towards her dance partner. After a minute or so, he turned his attention away from the swaying couple, to join in the conversation about baseball between AJ and Tiner. A couple of songs later, he saw Harriet nudge Bud, and, following the direction their eyes took, found his eyes watching Mac, who was staring mutely at Harm's back. Before he could catch his friend's attention, Harm turned around and caught Mac's eye, nodding as he stood up, went over to the dancing couple, and cut in, taking Mac into his arms. The dark-haired man scowled, slouched back to the bar.

By this point, AJ had noticed Sturgis' scrutiny.

"Don't worry Sturgis, they'll figure it out eventually!" the Admiral said with a small smile. Sturgis jumped. He hadn't realised that he himself was being watched.

"Sir?" he enquired.

"Sturgis, we're off duty. When we are in here, call me AJ. And don't worry, about those two. They'll figure it out soon."

"Sir?!" Sturgis squeaked.

"You think I haven't noticed the 'thing' between them. You would have to blind not to!! You wait until they have an argument! Then you'll really see something! I remember one time I had to send them both to an aircraft carrier to force them to sort out their issues!" AJ smiled, and rolled his eyes. "They are both clueless. But I know they'll get there in the end. Look" he nodded in the direction of the dancing pair. Harm had his arms wrapped securely around Mac's waist, holding her close. Mac had her arms looped around his neck and was looking up at him with a look of complete trust. They didn't really seem to be noticing the music, and were engaged in deep conversation. Harriet leaned in to join their conversation,

"Looking at the clueless couple Commander?!" she said with a smile.

"Please Harriet, call me Sturgis," he replied, flashing her a charming smile. "Have they always been this useless?" he continued, nodding in Harm and Mac's direction.

"Always!" Harriet affirmed with a grin, "They are both so stubborn!"

"That they are Harriet," AJ affirmed, "But they'll get there in the end." He repeated.

* * *

JAG Headquarters, Tuesday morning

The following day Harm walked into his office to find Mac sitting comfortably at his desk.

"Morning Mac!" he said, acting as if this were an everyday occurrence. She pouted at him, an action which reminded Harm of Chloe.

"Why won't you tell me what song you are singing on Friday!" she asked. He laughed, he should have known that the conversation she had started when they were dancing the previous evening was not over yet.

"I told you! It's a surprise!! You won't tell me what you are singing either!" he replied, flashing her the flyboy grin which made girls weak at the knees. Mac rolled her eyes at him and poked her tongue out.

"Fine!" she said, standing up, "You're no fun! I'm going to talk to someone more interesting!!" Harm watched her leave, a bemused smile on his face. Almost the whole time they had been dancing the previous night, they had been discussing Harriet's fundraiser, and Mac would not stop bugging him about his chosen song. Which, for obvious reasons, he was not about to share with her. A small window appeared on his computer screen: You have a new message, read now? He clicked yes.

**From: Mackenzie, Sarah **

**To: Rabb Jr, Harmon**

**Subject: **

**Tell me!!!!!!!**

**This communication is sent in confidence to the named recipient only. If you are not the named recipient, any use, disclosure or copying of this communication is prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately by telephone or email. **

**The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the corporate views of JAG. JAG accepts no liability for the content of this email or the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided.**

Harm laughed out loud at that. Who would have thought that his Marine would be such a kid at heart!?

**From: Rabb Jr , Harmon**

**To: Mackenzie, Sarah**

**Subject: RE:**

**Have you been taking 'annoying lessons' from Chloe?!?! ;-)**

**This communication is sent in confidence to the named recipient only. If you are not the named recipient, any use, disclosure or copying of this communication is prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately by telephone or email. **

**The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the corporate views of JAG. JAG accepts no liability for the content of this email or the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided.**

**

* * *

****From: Mackenzie, Sarah**

**To: Rabb Jr, Harmon**

**Subject: RE:RE:**

**Nope – from you! What can I say, I learned from the best!!!**

**This communication is sent in confidence to the named recipient only. If you are not the named recipient, any use, disclosure or copying of this communication is prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately by telephone or email. **

**The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the corporate views of JAG. JAG accepts no liability for the content of this email or the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided.**

Mac couldn't help but laugh as she pressed the send button. It was like they were back in high school, just with better technology!

The light-hearted banter continued sporadically for the rest of the morning. Interspersed with work of course. After lunch Mac was due in court, and Harm had a catch-up meeting with the Admiral so their antics were put on hold for a while.

* * *

When Mac got back to her office late that afternoon, she noticed a package sitting on her desk. Her heart stopped beating for a second when she noticed the Australian stamps and postmarks. It had to be from Mic. She opened it nervously, wondering what could be inside.

Harm barely had time to look up when he heard the knock at the door, before a dark-haired woman raced in, threw something onto his desk and collapsed on the chair opposite.

"Mac, what's the.." he trailed off when he saw the tears running down her face. "Mac, honey, what's wrong?" he asked, jumping to his feet, squatting down in front of her, and grabbing both her hands in his. Something was seriously wrong, Mac never cried.

"I just got this letter from Mic." She sniffled, pointing at the object she had thrown at his desk on her way in. She hesitated. "Its all of the bills from the wedding. We were going to split the costs, but now he's refusing to pay a cent."

"Oh Mac, I'm so sorry!" Harm said, pulling her into a hug and stroking her hair, which he noted was silky soft, "Would you like me to fly over there and kick his arse?! I'm sure the Admiral and Bud would come with me as back up!"

There was another sniffle, followed by a small giggle. Mac pulled back slightly, a small smile now gracing her features at the thought of Bud Roberts beating anyone up.

"Why is he doing this to me?" she sniffed again, "I may have been the one to postpone the wedding, but he was the one that walked away for good." Harm gently wiped the tears away from her cheeks, and pulled back into his arms, stroking her back gently.

"Shhhhh," he said quietly, "you deserve so much better than him Sarah, you are so much better than this." He continued to hold her for a little while longer, until she had cried herself out. "You ok now Ninja girl?" he asked as she pulled away from his warm embrace, surprised at how much she missed it the minute she did so. She managed a weak smile.

"Nothing that a hot bath, Chinese food and winning the lottery won't be able to fix."

"Well, I can manage two out of three!" Harm said, "What do you say Jarhead? What says I drive you home, run you a nice hot bath, and while you relax go and get us some food and videos?"

"That sounds like the best idea you've had yet!" Mac replied, the smile on her face a little brighter now. "I'll go get my stuff." She got to her feet and headed towards the door. "And," she added, turning around and throwing Harm a genuine grin, "While we're on our way home, you can tell me what you are singing next week!!!

* * *

well? how am i doing? if u like it (or don't)and have a second then please leave me a review!! 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: usual stuff!! don't sue me, im just a lowly temp!

Thanks to all of you who have been reviewing with so much enthusiasm :-) it makes my day!

AN: I know that most if not all of the films were not actually released if we are following the actualy JAG timeline, but humour me!

I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

Mac's Apartment

"Hi Harriet," Mac said into the phone, "Yeah I'm sorry we disappeared off of quickly, I've had a really bad day and just needed to escape. I don't think I would have been very good company in any case!" On the other end of the phone, Harriet smiled at Mac's subconscious use of the word 'we' which quite clearly referred to the Commander since his office was also conspicuously empty.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Harriet asked, concerned. It was so unlike Mac to let anything affect her openly.

"No, I'll be fine thanks," Mac replied, "I'll tell you about it tomorrow!" At that moment, Mac heard a key turn in the door, and Harm walked into her apartment, juggling a huge bag of Chinese food and a pile of 4 or 5 DVDs.

"Hey jarhead, foods up!" he called as he walked into the kitchen.

On the other end of the phone, Harriet smiled as she heard Harm's deep voice in the background.

"Ok!" Mac called, "Harriet, I've got to go." she added, turning her attention back to her phone conversation.

"See you tomorrow!" Harriet replied, adding as an afterthought, "Have a nice evening. Say hi to the Commander for me!" Mac laughed.

"Ok Harriet, will do. Kiss little AJ for me." She hung up the phone, and headed towards the kitchen where Harm was laying out the mountain of food he had bought.

"So where's yours?!" she asked with a cheeky smile, moving to get the plates out of the cupboard. Harm turned and looked at her, flashing his infamous flyboy grin

"Don't you mean, where's mine? Marine? This is all for me, I don't know what you were planning on eating." He teased back, slapping at her hand playfully as she tried to reach in and steal some noodles. "Hands off!" Mac looked around the kitchen, laughing, then grabbed a pair of chopsticks that were sitting on the side, brandished them like a sword and poked him in the stomach.

"U wanna fight me for it Squid?!" she giggled. Harm's face was a picture, he looked surprised. Then he grinned, and grabbed the other pair of chopsticks, aiming a blow at Mac's arm.

"You are so going down ninja girl!" he replied, chasing after her as she ran out of the kitchen and into the lounge. Five minutes later, they were still chasing each other around like children, trying to stab each other with the chopstick. Finally Harm upped the ante, dropping his chopsticks, and, finally catching up to her, started to tickle her mercilessly. She shrieked, giggling in a way reminiscent of Chloe.

"Harm, stop it!" she giggled, squirming around, trying to get free. Pulling away slightly, she made to run away, but Harm was too quick for her, and reached out to grab her. The loss of balance that resulted lead to them collapsing on to the floor, Harm's body covering Mac's, effectively pinning her to the floor. They both froze. Staring into each others eyes, both completely caught and unable, or unwilling, to move. The sounds of the phone ringing interrupted their trance. Smiling shyly and blushing slightly, Harm moved off her, allowing her to get up and answer the phone. She got up, her legs feeling a little bit wobbly, and her stomach doing back flips.

"Colonel Mackenzie." She said into the handset.

"Hi Chloe!" She said, smiling apologetically at Harm, who headed back into the kitchen, returning a few minutes later with the Chinese food, plates and DVDs piled high on a tray.

"I'm just about to sit down and watch a movie with Harm." Mac said into the phone. She rolled her eyes at Chloe's response.

"Chloe" she said, a warning tone in her voice, "How are things with your Grandma?" she continued, doing her best to change the subject from Chloe's request that she give Harm a kiss from her.

"Are you still going to be able to come down in a couple of weeks?" Mac asked after Chloe's lengthy reply.

"That's great, we'll have a fantastic time!" Mac smiled, and motioned to Harm to start eating. 'I won't be a second' she mouthed. Harm nodded and started to dig in to the veggie chow mein.

"Ok Chloe, I love you too! See you soon!" Mac finished, hanging up the phone.

"Chloe alright?" Harm asked, through a mouthful of noodles.

"Yeah, she's fine, she says hi." She replied, joining him on the sofa and reaching for her plate. They settled down comfortably, chatting about their cases, their friends and baby AJ while they ate their dinner, pointedly ignoring the moment that had happened before Chloe rang. After a while, they cleared away the leftover food, and settled down in front of the TV.

"So what films did you get?" she asked, yawning.

"A Few Good Men, **(AN: (!)) **Sweet Home Alabama, The Interpreter, Finding Nemo, and the fourth Harry Potter one." Harm replied, reaching for the pile of DVDs on the table in front of them.

"A Few Good Men?!" she asked raising her eyebrows, "Really?!" Harm laughed at her scepticism.

"You know you'll appreciate Tom Cruise in dress whites."

"Sure Flyboy," she replied teasingly, "Just as much as you'll enjoy Demi Moore in them!"

"Nah, I prefer women in Marine dress uniform to women in Navy whites, you know that!" he replied, secretly loving the way that his comment brought a blush to her cheeks.

"Anyways," Mac continued, trying to cover her embarrassment at his comment, "lets watch The Interpreter. I haven't seen it yet, and it got really good reviews."

"You wish is my command." Harm replied, getting to his feet and putting the DVD on. Before he sat down, he moved to the door, and dimmed the lights and then went and sat on the sofa next to Mac. About halfway through the film, Harm gently looped his arm around her shoulders and she snuggled into the crook of his shoulder, like they had a thousand times over.

* * *

Harm woke with a start, his back felt very stiff, and he wondered why he wasn't in his bed. Looking around to try and find his bearings, he finally registered a slight weight on his chest. Looking down, he saw Mac curled up against him with her head on his chest. He tried in vain to stretch his legs slightly without waking her up. She looked so sweet lying there; he really didn't want to wake her. Unfortunately for Harm, Mac was a light sleeper, and as he stretched his legs out, she stirred, her eyes flickering open.

"Harm?" she mumbled sleepily, looking up at him, her brown eyes searching for his in confusion. "What are you doing here?" Harm looked around, noticing the TV still on with the main menu of the DVD still running on its loop.

"I guess we fell asleep watching the film." He replied. Mac sat up and stretched.

"Well, I suppose I should head back home," Harm said, moving to get up.

"Its 4.30 am Harm," Mac replied, "Just stay here. You have a change of uniform in you car right?"

"Yeah, I suppose I could stay on the sofa." He agreed, not entirely unwillingly. He liked the idea of waking up in the same apartment as Mac.

"What, and have you complain about you back all day?!" she retorted with a sleepy grin, "Its fine Harm, you can have the other half of my bed. Its not like we've never shared a bed before!" Harm yawned hugely, and nodded his agreement. They both got up and he followed her into her room, settling himself down on the left side of her bed.

"Here flyboy," Mac said, throwing one of his old t-shirts that she had managed to acquire at him. "I'm just going to change." She padded softly into the bathroom, changing into another of Harm's old t-shirts and some comfy shorts.

When she came out, Harm had changed into his t-shirt and stripped to his boxers, and had got under the covers, dozing slightly. He opened one eye when she came into the room.

"Just how many t-shirts of mine do you have Jarhead?!" he asked, a trace of amusement in his voice.

"A few." She admitted, turning of the light and climbing into bed beside him. "Night flyboy" she murmured as she drifted back off to sleep.

"Night beautiful" Harm replied in his half awake state, stiffening slightly when he realised what he had said. Luckily she didn't seem to notice.

* * *

When Harm woke up a couple of hours later, he couldn't help but smile to himself. In the course of the night, well early morning in any case, he and Mac had moved closer and closer, ending up spooned together. Harm had one arm wrapped securely around her waist and one of her hands was resting on top of his own. It was just so comfortable, he felt like he could stay there forever. He also noted once again how pretty she looked while she slept.

His slight movement, coupled with her internal alarm clock woke Mac up, and she turned over slightly, not overly surprised that they had ended up in this position.

"Time to get up Squid." She smiled, reaching up to ruffle his hair. He looked adorable to her, like a sleepy child and she found herself wondering what he had been like as a kid.

"Yes Ma'am" he responded with a fake salute, before getting out of bed and starting to get ready for the day.

* * *

JAG Headquarters, later that morning

Harriet knocked on the door to her husbands office and went in,

"Did you notice how the Colonel and the Commander came into work in the same car?" she asked as she sat down in the chair opposite. Before Bud could respond, there was another knock at the door, which Harriet had left open, and Sturgis walked in.

"Sorry," he smiled, "I couldn't help but overhear what you said Harriet. Is that right? They came in together?" Harriet smiled. It looked like at last she might have found a more willing co-conspirator than her husband.

"Yes." She replied, "I know that he went over to hers for dinner last night, he must have stayed the night."

"But honey, that's not exactly an uncommon occurrence." Bud interjected before his wife could get started. "They often have working dinners and end up staying at each other's apartments, it doesn't mean anything."

"But they left JAG in the same car. The Colonel's car stayed in the car park all night." Harriet replied. Sturgis smiled,

"Well Harriet," he started, "I'll try and get any details out of Harm, if you want to try Mac? And if nothing has happened, please tell me you have a plan or something to push them along a bit!"

"I'm sure we can find a way sir." Harriet replied, her eyes dancing in excitement. "By the way Commander, have you decided which song you are singing in the fundraiser?"

"Not yet Lieutenant" Sturgis replied, "I'll let you know tomorrow if that's ok."

"That's fine sir. If you happen to pass Commander Rabb would you be able to remind him too please?"

"No problem." Sturgis replied, before leaving Bud's office and making a beeline for Harm's. It was time for them to have a little chat.

* * *

Loved it? Hated it? Got a bit bored? Let me know!! I'll be updating as often as I can, I'm about to start writing the next chapter. Thank you for reading this far! 


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks once agian for all my wonderful reviews!!!!! hope you all enjoy this next installment. I promise ill get to the funsraiser in the next 2 or 3 chapterS!!!!

* * *

"Hey buddy" Sturgis said as he knocked on the open door to Harm's office. "You wanna go get some lunch?"

"Sure," he replied, "I'll just go and see if Mac, Bud and Harriet want to join us."

"I already saw Mac and Harriet leave together," Sturgis said quickly, "Bud is in a meeting with the Admiral."

"Well then, I guess it's just you and me." Harm replied with a grin, getting to his feet and following his friend out of the door.

"So where were you last night?" Sturgis asked casually, "Hot date? I tried ringing you to see if you fancied going out for a beer."

"I was just at Mac's," Harm replied, rolling his eyes at the look on Sturgis' face. "We fell asleep watching a movie so I ended up staying on the couch." Sturgis looked closely at him, trying to determine if he was lying or not.

"And that's it?" he asked sceptically, "You spent the whole evening alone in an apartment with the woman that you love and nothing happened?!" Harm rolled his eyes again.

"I told you, Mac doesn't see me that way. We are just friends."

"Ok buddy, I believe you! Millions wouldn't. And just for the record, I think you are wrong about Mac." Sturgis said with a grin. "Hey, there are Harriet and Mac," he added indicating to a table in the middle of the courtyard, "shall we go and join them?" Harm looked at him pointedly ignoring his final comment, and nodded, following his friend over to the table.

"Good afternoon ladies" he said, flashing them his best flyboy grin. "May we join you?" Mac and Harriet smiled at them,

"Sure," Mac agreed, "As long as you don't make any comment about my eating habits Squid." Harm laughed and pulled up a chair as the girls moved round to make room for them both.

"So Harriet," Harm started, "How are the preparations for the fundraiser coming along?"

"Everything's almost set sir," Harriet replied, "All I need now is the names of the songs that you, Commander Turner and the Admiral are singing and we are all set. The rehearsals will start from Monday if you want them, with final rehearsal on Thursday evening."

"You mean you haven't told anyone what you're singing?" Mac asked him with a cheeky grin.

"Nope, for the moment that's need to know information." Harm replied, poking his tongue out at her. "Anyway, you haven't told me what you are singing!" he added as an afterthought.

"That's a secret!" she replied with a teasing grin, exchanging an amused glance with Harriet.

"But Harriet knows?!"

"Harriet has to know, she's organising the event" Mac replied, doing her best to ignore Harm's puppy dog eyes that were trained on her. "And you can quit it with the eyes Flyboy, you aren't going to get a word out of me!"

They all carried easily for the rest of the lunch hour. Sturgis once again took the opportunity to observe the seemingly oblivious couple. Nothing fundamental seemed to have changed between them. They were obviously very comfortable around each other, but they were still treating each other the same as before.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Harm had just returned from a victorious case in court, involving a Petty Officer being cleared of fraternisation charges and was sitting in his office searching online for a place to buy the sheet music of Rod Stewart's 'Crazy Love' when he heard a knock at the door. He looked up to see Mac leaning on the doorframe, a fairly pissed off expression marring her pretty face.

"What's up Marine?" he asked, immediately concerned, rushing to minimise the window in his screen as she moved to enter the room.

"I just got off the phone to Mic," Mac replied, walking in and collapsing on the spare chair. "I can't believe what a bastard he is being about all of this. He was the one who walked away."

"What did he say?"

"You don't want to know. Let's just say that he said some fairly unpleasant things about me, you and the rest of the JAG team." Harm looked angry,

"Tell me what he said Mac," she insisted, "I need to have a reason to punch him the next time I see him!" The corners of Mac's mouth turned up at that.

"Looking out for me Flyboy?"

"You bet you ass I am. And I need a good defence before I start my offence!"

"Thanks Harm, you really don't need to protect me though! Although I do appreciate the thought!"

"What did he say?" Harm repeated

"Oh nothing, he just made some comment suggesting that you should be the one paying for the wedding since, and I quote, "it was your fault it got cancelled.""

"Oh Mac, I'm so sorry!" Harm said, his expression wavering between anger and disgust.

"He really is being pathetic, you deserve so much more than him." Mac looked at him, were they really about to have that talk that they had never got round to having? _No, _she decided, _work was not the right place, it would happen soon, but not yet. I'm not sure if I'm ready for it in any case, especially now Mic is being such an idiot._ She smiled,

"I know I really hurt him," she said after a slight pause, "but HE left ME, he was the one that made the decision, and I'll be damned if I'm going to spend ages paying off things that he agreed to pay for." She paused again, looking him in the eyes, "Will you help me if things get ugly?" Harm smiled at her, walked over to her, pulled her to her feet and wrapped her in a big hug.

"You know I will. Whatever you need." He replied, dropping a brief kiss onto her hair. They stood like that for a couple of minutes, until the sound of the telephone ringing once again interrupted the moment.

"Rabb" he said as he answered it. "Yes sir," he continued, "right away sir." He hung up the phone. "That was Admiral Chegwidden, there's a full staff meeting in half an hour, he wanted me to let you know. Are you going to be ok ninja girl?"

"I'll be fine Harm, thanks for everything." She smiled at him, the anger that had appeared in her eyes softening at his concern.

"Anytime darlin'" Harm replied, flashing her a grin that made her feel a little weak at the knees.

* * *

McMurphy's bar, a couple of days later

"So what did Mic say Ma'am…Mac" Harriet asked, quickly correcting her mistake at the look at amusement on her companion's face. She and Mac had decided to go out for a girly night out, leaving Bud and Harm to watch a football match on TV while watching baby AJ.

"He's refusing to pay for any of the outstanding wedding fees." Mac replied, a look of barely controlled disgust playing across her face. "He actually suggested to me that I should make Harm pay since according to Mic it was his fault that the wedding got cancelled." Harriet looked shock.

"He actually said that? That's an awful thing to stay. Your best friend had almost died!"

Mac shrugged her shoulders.

"He never got my relationship with Harm. Hell I don't know if I get my relationship with Harm. But it was too much for him to deal with, that's why he left."

"Anyone who looks at the two of you can tell that you're in love." Harriet said softly. "I remember the day we saw that you had swapped Mic's ring over to the other hand. He looked completely lost. I don't think he knew what to do with himself." Mac looked down at her hands,

"I know, I noticed it too. I went to talk to him a little later that day. I could have sworn that I saw tears in his eyes. We started to argue, he didn't believe that I was happy. Which I was. Just not as happy as I could have been…" she trailed off, not wanting to say anymore.

"Not as happy as you would have been if it was Harm's ring? Harriet pressed, Mac nodded, unable to look Harriet in the eye, and not quite trusting herself to speak.

"Don't worry, it will work itself out." Harriet said confidently. Mac looked at her and she continued, "You two are meant for each other. It would take a fool not to see that." Mac managed a smile.

"Thanks Harriet." She replied, not quite believing her friend however much she wanted to.

"By the way," Harriet added, an impish grin flashing across her face, "I love your choice of song for the fundraiser. Singing about a certain Naval Commander are we?!" Mac blushed.

"Maybe" she smiled coyly. "Bu Harriet, you can't say a word, especially to Harm."

"Don't worry, all the songs are going to be a surprise, that's why there are so many different rehearsal spots, to keep things secret." On seeing the worried look on Mac's face, she smiled understandingly. "Don't worry Mac," she continued, "He is going to love it."

"How do you think the boys are getting on with little AJ?" Mac asked, making it clear she didn't want to discuss it any further. Harriet laughed.

"I imagine AJ is asleep, with his diaper on backwards, and we'll find Harm and Bud fast asleep on the sofa, covered in baby food!" Mac laughed at the visual. "AJ was so happy to see his godfather tonight. And Harm was so good with him. He's going to be a fantastic dad one day."

"I miss my little godson." She said with a grin, "Next time we'll send the boys out and have a girls night in instead."

"Actually I was meaning to ask you a favour." Harriet said, suddenly remembering, "Next Tuesday would you be able to come over and watch baby AJ? It's Bud and my anniversary and he wants to take me out for dinner."

"Of course I'll watch him for you" Mac replied happily

"Thank you so much, AJ will be so excited to spend some time with his favourite godmother!"

* * *

You know what to do!!!! 


	7. Authors Note

Author's note: Some of you may have noticed that I have changed my penname – its still me though! And I'll do my best to post the next chapter tomorrow evening.


	8. Chapter 8

I know I say at the start of every chapter 'thanks for my reviews' well i just wanted to say i really mean it! thatk you for taking the time to let me know how you think im doing, it really helps to know that you guys are still enjoying it.

so once again - thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!

* * *

Roberts Residence, Tuesday evening 

Mac was sitting on the Roberts' sofa watching TV with baby AJ fast asleep on her lap. Harriet and Bud had just left to go out for the anniversary meal, leaving Mac to watch her godson, who, for the moment, was being an angel. Mac found herself looking down at the angelic face of her godson wistfully, thinking about the time after he'd been born and the deal she and Harm had made. _I wonder if that will ever happen, _she thought, _and even if it does, the way he put it, how was it 'go halves on a kid?' doesn't that suggest that he'd just be a friend helping out another friend. Almost as if he doesn't want kids. That would be a shame, he really would make a great dad. _In her minds eye she could see what their child could look like, a little girl, petite like her mother, with dark hair and those bright blue-green eyes that could only belong to the child of Harmon Rabb. Or a little boy, complete with that flyboy grin, the spitting image of his father, but with her big brown eyes. She was pulled from her daydream by baby AJ's cry. He had woken up, and was clearly not particularly happy. At the same moment, the doorbell rang, and little AJ's cries grew louder. Mac picked him up, gently bouncing him up and down and rubbing his back, trying to calm him as she went to answer the door.

"Harm!" she exclaimed, as she opened the door, "What are you doing here?" Harm looked just as surprised to see her.

"I guess the two married people failed on the communication part of their marriage!" he replied with a grin, "Bud asked me to baby sit the other night." Mac laughed,

"Well since you are here, you want to stay and keep me company? We were just about to sit down and watch Lady and the Tramp!" **(AN: I don't know how old baby AJ is, so for the purpose of my story he's about 1 year old) **Harm looked at her, amused beyond belief,

"Lady and the Tramp Ninja Girl? Why do I think that's your influence?!"

"He likes the songs, Harriet said so!" Mac replied with a grin, "Although it is one of my favourite Disney films."

"Well you go and set it up then, I'll take him for a second" Harm said, reaching out to take the squirming little boy from Mac's arms. He wasn't crying anymore, and once he was being held by Harm, smiled contentedly, making little giggling sounds as Harm started pulling faces at him. Mac watched him, a small smile on her face, once again imagining him with their children.

"Earth to Mac!" Harm said, noticing that she hadn't moved. Mac jumped slightly, and blushed, hoping that just this once Harm wouldn't be able to guess what she was thinking about.

"Sorry, I was a world a way!" she said, quickly turning and heading back to the lounge to put the DVD on. Looking slightly perplexed, Harm followed her slowly, whispering ot baby AJ as he went,

"That was a bit strange wasn't it? I wonder what's up with your auntie Mac?!" AJ gurgled at him, "Yes I agree," Harm added with a grin, "women are very confusing!"

About an hour later, Mac was curled up on the sofa, fast asleep, while Harm was sitting on the floor with little AJ, who seemed intent on crawling all around the house. Mac woke up just her favourite bit of the film came on the screen (the spaghetti eating bit of course) and without looking at a watch, said

"We should probably get him into bed now Harm," Harm nodded, and picked the little boy up easily.

"Come on buddy!" he said, starting to carry him upstairs. "Oooh, smells like someone needs a diaper change before bed!" he added, as Mac followed him up to the nursery.

They got AJ ready for bed together, in companionable silence, Harm dealing with the dirty diaper like a pro, then handing him to Mac to change his clothes. Once he was safely ensconced and asleep in his cot bed, they headed back downstairs to help themselves to a drink and a bag of microwave popcorn and sit back down in front of the telly to finish the film.

"I love that film" Mac sighed, as the credits started to roll, "its just so cute"

"Who would thought such a tough Marine could be such a hopeless romantic!" Harm teased, a smile playing at his lips. Mac laughed, poked her tongue out at him and threw a couple of pieces of popcorn at him.

"Oh, you are so going down Jarhead!" he said, reaching for the popcorn bowl himself.

"Like to see you try Squid!" she replied, with a giggle, pulling the bowl out of his reach. Harm paused for a moment, before a wicked glint appeared in his eye,

"Shall we watch another film then Jarhead?" Mac blinked at him, confused as to why he has backed down.

"What are you planning Flyboy?" she asked suspiciously. Harm offered her his most innocent smile.

"Nothing!" he said, pretending to be hurt, "I just thought we should watch a film and EAT the popcorn instead of spreading it around Bud and Harriet's lounge!"

"Well, OK," Mac agreed, still looking slightly suspicious. "What do you want to watch?"

"I brought Top Gun!" Harm said hopefully, reaching over and pulling it out of his coat pocket. Mac rolled her eyes,

"Gee, that's original! How about we watch something non-work related!"

"Fine" Harm pouted, getting to his feet and walking over to the DVD rack next to the TV. "How about an episode or two of the West Wing? I haven't watched any of that in ages!"

"Sounds great, I haven't seen any of that in a while either." They settled down comfortably, quickly getting caught up in the story line. About twenty minutes in, Harm glanced over at Mac, and noticing the look of concentration on her pretty face, decided it was time to act out his plan. Without her noticing he removed a piece of ice from his glass, and when she wasn't looking, dropped it quickly down the back of her jumper. She squealed, wriggling around to get the ice to fall out of her top.

"You sneaky squid!" she said, collapsing into giggles, grabbing a cushion and aiming a half-hearted blow at his head. Harm was laughing too, thrilled at how successful his little prank had been.

"Sorry.." he managed to stay, still laughing hysterically, "I couldn't resist!" Mac rolled her eyes at him,

"Flirt!" she accused, still laughing

"So what if I am?!" Harm countered with a flyboy grin.

"I will get you back for that," she promised, a wicked grin appearing on her face.

"I'll be looking forward to it" Harm replied flirtatiously, enjoying the blush that appeared on his companions face at his words. She looked so cute, blushing and flustered like that. They fell into a comfortable silence, and returned their attention back to the screen. Without thinking anything of it, twisted herself around, put a pillow on to Harm's leg, and lay down.

"Making yourself comfortable Jarhead?!" He asked her teasingly, not minding in the slightest.

"I need to be comfy to be able to drool over Rob Lowe!" she retorted with a grin.

As they continued watching TV, Harm absentmindedly started to stroke Mac's short hair, glorying in how soft it felt, and that she wasn't protesting. He could have sworn he heard her let out a small sigh of contentment, but decided it was best not to say anything. He didn't want an angry Marine on his hands if he could help it.

They had just finished one episode, when a wail was heard over the baby monitor.

"I'll go." Mac volunteered, Harm had calmed him down last time after all.

"OK," Harm replied, yawning, "Shall I go and make us some coffee?"

"Sure, thanks" Mac replied, as she made her way upstairs.

"What's the matter little one?" she asked, reaching down and picking AJ up. "Are you missing mummy and daddy? Don't worry, they'll be back soon." She started humming softly, a lullaby that her Uncle Matt had sung to her as a child. AJ started to calm down, looking at her adoringly with his big blue eyes. She walked up and down the room, still humming softly, trying to lull him back to sleep, not noticing Harm standing in the doorway, a faraway look in his eyes as he watched her with their Godson. In his imagination, a clearly pregnant Mac was holding a beautiful brown-eyed baby girl, with beautiful curly brown hair, the spitting image of her. Their baby.

Mac looked up, and caught him staring.

"Would you stop for red lights?" she asked, referring to the episode of the West Wing that they had just finished watching, in which Donna had promised Josh that if he were ever in an accident, he wouldn't stop for red lights. Harm got the reference immediately,

"I wouldn't stop for police lights or sirens either." He replied, walking into the room. She smiled and looked up into his eyes.

"Me neither" she admitted softly. _And here we are again, _Harm thought, with a trace of amusement. _We're really doing well on these 'moments' recently! She looks so beautiful right now, I really want to kiss her._ He moved slightly closer, not taking his eyes off of hers. Mac's eyes widened, her tongue poking out to wet her lips in anticipation.

At that moment, the door slammed downstairs, and they heard Bud and Harriet call to out.

"Mac?"

"We're up here!" Harm called, flashing Mac a rather sheepish flyboy grin. Harriet and Bud appeared in the doorway.

"Commander, what are you doing here?" Harriet asked in surprise. Bud looked embarrassed

"That's my fault honey, I asked Harm to baby sit and then forgot all about it. Sorry Harm!"

"No worries, it was great to spend time with my godson," Harm replied with a smile "and this lovely jarhead of course!" he added with a wink, earning him a smack on the arm from the aforementioned Marine. Harriet reached out and took her son from Mac's arms.

"Thanks for looking after him." She said, "Did he just wake up?"

"Yes, about 5 minutes ago," Mac replied,

"He's got into this habit of waking up at this time, I'll just put him down again."

"We should probably take off, leave you guys to it." Harm said, moving forward and giving little AJ a kiss on the forehead. "Bye little man!" Mac followed suit and then followed Bud and Harm out of the room.

"See you tomorrow Harriet."

"Bye Mac, thank you!"

At the door, both Harm and Mac turned and said their goodbyes to Bud, before walking down the path to their cars tomorrow. They stopped at Mac's car, grinning sheepishly at each other.

"Well I suppose I better be going," she said looking up at him, suddenly feeling shy. _Get a grip Mackenzie, _she told herself, _this is your best friend in the entire world you're standing with, not Rob Lowe. _To her great surprise, Harm nodded, and lent down, gently kissing her cheek, his lips lingering just a couple of seconds longer than a usual peck on the cheek.

"Night Mac, Sweet dreams" he murmured huskily, before turning and walking to his car. Mac stood there for a second, her heart racing, then shook herself and got into her car, waving to Harm as she drove off. The fundraiser definitely was going to be interesting.

Harriet, who had witnessed the whole exchange from the nursery window grinned happily. _Wait til I tell Sturgis_ she thought gleefully.

* * *

I think I might have put a fair few anglicisms in there today – sorry about that, I know that I should make more of an effort but just using the word diaper is a struggle to me!!! 

Please don't hold it against me!!!!!

All reviews good and bad are appreciated!


	9. Chapter 9

We've finally arrived at the fundraiser people!! I've split it into two parts, you know, just to create a little suspense and whatnot!!! Hope u enjoy this part, I'll have the second part up in the next couple of days, depending on how busy I am at work!

Thanks again to those of you who left me feedback, its all muchly appreciated!!

I don't own any of the songs mentioned. The first set of lyrics is 'Complicated' by Carolyn Dawn Johnson, and the second set is 'Crazy Love' by Rod Stewart

* * *

Over the next three or four days, Mac was getting increasingly more nervous about the fundraiser. Harm had been driving her crazy. He hadn't really been doing anything different, Mac imagined that to their friends it would look like nothing had changed, they were still very close, they still bickered like mad, each seeming to enjoy winding the other up, and they still were very competitive in the court room. It was the little things that were driving her crazy. The slight touches on her arm when he was trying to get her attention or push his point home, the couple of times he had reached over and tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ears, the frequency with which the flyboy grin was appearing. These things that with any other man would have been a clear sign of flirtation, but with Harm, could mean he was just glad to have his best friend back.

Harm was also getting more and more nervous, although he was enjoying Mac's reactions to the flirty gestures he kept sending her way, and he hoped that the song was going to well received by Mac. He had been practicing round the clock was fairly certain that he sounded pretty good.

* * *

Marriott Hotel, Friday night

Finally the night of the fundraiser had arrived. The participants from JAG and NCIS as well as a host of people from the SecNav's office, and a few congressmen and women all descended on the Marriott hotel, where the performances and then the party would happen afterwards. Mac and Harm drove over together in Mac's corvette so that Harm could have a couple of drinks if he wanted to. They were both wearing their dress uniforms, with their costumes for the evening in bags in the boot of the car. Although they didn't technically have to be in their dress uniforms, the JAG team had decided to show up in them in a bid to start off the evening showing up their NCIS colleagues, as there was a healthy rivalry between the two departments. But they all planned to change into ballgowns and tuxes after the performances.

"Are you ready to lose Flyboy?!" Mac teased as they got out of the car. Harm laughed and shook his head,

"If anyone's gonna lose here tonight, it's going to be you Jarhead!"

"Arrogant Squid!" Mac retorted with a playful smile, "The judges are going to love me!"

"Sure they are!" Harm answered, "Just not as much as they are going to love me!"

"Get in the hotel Flyboy" Mac replied with a roll of her eyes.

"Gee Mac, I thought you'd never ask!" he replied playfully with a jokey leer.

"Red light Commander!" Mac replied with a grin, pushing him through the main doors of the hotel. Harm pouted and winked at her,

"You spoil all my fun!" and then "Ouch!" His comment had earned him a smack round the head from the still-grinning Marine Colonel who was standing next to him.

"Come on Flyboy, you should go and prepare yourself for defeat!" She then sashayed off, following Jason Tiner and Victor Galindez who had followed them in and were now heading towards the ballroom to find Harriet. Harm watched her as she walked off; e loved how she looked in dress uniform. At the doorway to the ballroom, just a few feet away, she turned and called,

"Are you coming Flyboy? Or are you just going to stand there and stare at my six?!" Harm's jaw dropped, as she winked at him and disappeared through the door. Then he laughed; it looked like Mac had picked up on the extra bit of flirting he had been doing.

Harriet went out on stage to cheers and applause.

"Welcome everybody to the first JAG and NCIS Idol!" she announced into the microphone. "Before we begin, I'd just like to remind you that all the money raised this evening will go to Cancer research so please dig seep! Also that the judges have final say on who wins, but we also have a few mini-awards to give out, that you can vote for while the judges deliberate. These are 'Best choice of song,' 'Least likely to win a recording contract,' 'Best costume' and 'Most likely to melt someone's heart with their performance'" The audience all laughed, "You can vote using the ballot boxes and pieces of paper at the back there. It costs 50 cents each time you vote. " Harriet continued, pointing to the back of the room. "And without further ado, I'd like to introduce our first contestant, Admiral Chegwidden."

The Admiral stepped out onto the stage to laughter. He was dressed in a bright purple suit, had a ginger wig, and large 80s style glasses on. The music started, and he started to belt out a fairly impressive version of 'Your Song' by Elton John. Next came Tony DiNozzo and Abby Sciuto, two of the NCIS agents, singing a hilarious and very Marilyn Manson-esque version of 'Tainted Love.' During the first two performances, Mac and Harm had been sitting with Bud and Sturgis, but after Tony and Abby had finished, Mac turned and whispered to Harm,

"I better go and get ready. Save my seat Flyboy!"

"Knock 'em dead ninja girl!" Harm replied with a grin, his eyes following her as she threaded her way through the crowds to the dressing rooms.

"Earth to Harm!" Sturgis nudged him, "Look alive buddy!" he added with a grin, noticing the slightly dazed look on Harm's face. Harm snapped his attention back to the stage where Victor Galindez was currently belting out an absolutely fantastic version of 'Y tu te vas' by Chayanne. The applause for the Gunny was overwhelming and Harm felt a little nervous. He was going on last, and he wasn't sure he could top that. After the Gunny came Loren Singer and NCIS Agent McGee singing a duet of 'Romeo and Juliet' by Dire Straits. Next came NCIS agent Caitlin Todd, who sang a fun version of 'Sometimes' by Britney Spears, not taking her eyes off Tony DiNozzo as she sang, a fact noticed with amusement by her colleagues and some of the audience, and with a Cheshire cat grin by the object of her affections.

Backstage, Mac took a few steadying breaths as she heard Kate finish her song and the applause start.

"You ready Mac?" Harriet asked with a smile, "Don't worry you'll be fine! Harm is gonna love it" she added when she saw the nervous look on Mac's face.

"Well done Kate!" Mac said as the NCIS agent walked off stage, smiling.

"Thanks Mac," she replied, blushing as she saw Tony coming up to meet her. "Go get 'em!" she added, as Mac started to walk out onto the stage as Harriet introduced her.

In the audience, Harm sat up straighter as she walked onto the stage, absolutely transfixed by the vision in front of him. Mac looked absolutely stunning. She had her short dark hair pinned up at the back, giving the impression that if one pin was pulled out, her hair would cascade like a waterfall down her back.(despite being so short!) She was wearing a beautiful green evening gown, that had had to thin spaghetti straps holding it up and a rather daring split on one side that showed her shapely legs as she walked. She caught Harm's eye in the crowd and gave him a rather shy smile as the music started up, quickly dragging her gaze away from his as she started to sing.

I'm so scared that the way that I feel is written all over my face

When you walk into the room I wanna find a hiding place.

We used to laugh, we used to hug, the way that old friends do.

But now a smile and the touch of your hand just makes me come unglued.

It's such a contradiction

Do I lie or tell the truth?

Is it fact or fiction?

Oh, the way I feel for you.

It's so complicated

I'm so frustrated,

I wanna hold you close, I wanna push you away,

I wanna make you go, I wanna make you stay.

Should I say it?

Should I tell you how I feel?

Oh, I want you to know, but then again I don't,

It's so complicated.

Just when I think I'm under control, I think I finally got a grip,

Another friend tells me that my name is always on your lips.

They say I'm more than just a friend, they say I must be blind.

Well, I admit that I've seen you watch me from the corner of your eye.

Oh, it's so confusing,

Yeah, I wish you'd just confess.

But think of what I'd be losing,

If your answer wasn't yes.

All the while she was singing, Mac kept her eyes studiously away from Harm's, she was too scared of the expression she might find there. Harm was just staring at her, listening to the words, and the sweet melodic sound of her voice. _Was she singing about him?_ He wondered hopefully. The intensity of his gaze increased as he willed her to look over at him, hope bubbling up inside him.

It's so complicated

I'm so frustrated,

I wanna hold you close; I wanna push you away,

I wanna make you go, I wanna make you stay.

Should I say it?

Should I tell you how I feel?

Oh, I want you to know, but then again I don't,

It's so complicated.

I hate it

Cause I've waited so long for someone like you.

What do I do?

Oh, Should I say it?

Should I tell you how I feel?

Oh, I want you to know, but then again I don't.

It's so complicated.

As she got ready to sing the last two lines, Mac gathered up her courage and glanced in Harm's direction. Her gaze caught his and they both stood, staring like two deer in headlights. She was so relieved that she didn't see any disgust in his face that she almost missed her final lines, realizing just in time, but still not taking her eyes of Harm's.

It's so complicated.

It's so complicated.

She started, pulled out of her reverie by the applause and whistles she was receiving. She took a bow, smiling happily, then turned and left the stage, nodding to Harriet and the next contestant, the NCIS coroner Dr Mallard.

When she got to the dressing rooms she found that the adrenaline had kicked in for real and she was shaking slightly. There she found Sturgis and Bud who were both getting ready, along with one of the NCIS agents that she didn't know.

"Mac, that was fantastic!" Sturgis said to her, as he pulled on an afro wig. He was dressed in purple flares and a purple shirt, getting ready to take to the stage as a member of the Jackson 5 singing 'Blame it on the boogie.'

"Thanks Sturgis, good luck boys!" she replied, blushing faintly as she grabbed her purse and headed back out to join the audience.

Back on stage, Dr Mallard, resplendent in black suit and tie, with a black hat looking like a very dapper member of the rat back, was just finishing 'Witchcraft' by Frank Sinatra to applause and catcalls from the NCIS team. Sturgis's rendition of the Jackson 5 soon followed, as did Bud's version of Sinatra's 'Come Fly with Me.' Mac had missed Harm on her way back to the crowd, as he was now getting ready in the dressing room, while she sat with the Admiral and Victor cheering on the members of the JAG core. After NCIS agent Cassie Smith had cheered them up with her version of 'Reach' by S Club 7, it was Harm's turn.

As he stepped out onto the stage, now it was Mac's turn to be transfixed. Harm was wearing a black tuxedo, the bowtie undone and thrown carelessly around his neck, one of his shirttails slightly untucked, his guitar thrown over his back so that only the strap was showing. He looked gorgeous as he sauntered across the stage, flyboy grin firmly in place. Settling onto the seat that Harriet had carried out for him, he took a moment to check his guitar was in tune, before starting to play. Mac's heart jumped as she recognised the song; it was one of her favourites. She saw Harm glancing around the audience, evidently trying to seek someone out before he started singing. Her heart started to race as his eyes fell onto her…..and stayed there, staring into her eyes as he opened his mouth and started to sing.

I can hear her heart beat from a thousand miles

And the heaven opens everytime she smiles

And when I come to her that's where I belong

Yet I run into her like a river's song

She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love

She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love

During the instrumental bit he smiled almost shyly, still not taking his eyes off of her face. Mac was blushing, she could feel her face heating up, but couldn't bring herself to pull her gaze away. He was making his feelings perfectly clear, and it struck Mac that maybe she hadn't been imagining the extra flirting, or any of the 'moments' they had repeatedly been having recently.

She got a fine sense of humour when I'm feeling low down

And when I come to her when the sun goes down

Take away my trouble, take away my grief

Take away my heartache in the night like a thief

She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love

She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love

And I need her in the daytime

And I need her in the night

And I want to throw my arms around her

Kiss and hug her, kiss and hug her tight

Sturgis couldn't help but laugh to himself when as he watched Harm sing to the woman he loved. _I doubt he even realises that the rest of us are in the room_ he thought with a grin, _Harm, you big softie! _His grin got bigger when he noticed Loren Singer's reaction to the song, her eyes swivelling back and forth between Harm and Mac, looking completely amazed by the emotion evident in both their expressions. _Trust Singer to be the only member of the office not to notice the sparks between those two! _He thought, amused beyond belief.

And when I'm returning from so far away

She give me a sweet smile that brighten up my day

Yet it makes me righteous, yes it makes me whole

Yet it makes me mellow down into my soul

She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love

She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love

She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love

She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love

As Harm finished the song he tried to tear his eyes away from Mac's, but found he couldn't bear to. He smiled at her, trying to convey how much he meant the words in that single glance, before forcing himself to look around and acknowledge the tumultuous applause he was receiving. He bowed, a blush rising up his face as he turned and headed off stage.

"Thank you Commander Rabb, that was a fantastic ending." Harriet said, grinning hugely at the crowd, "The judges should now come back stage to join me for deliberation. Everybody, please start casting your voted at the back of the hall, and get yourselves some drinks, the bar is now open." At her words, Congresswoman Latham and Agent Gibbs of NCIS got to their feet and headed backstage while the rest of the audience slowly got to their feet and headed to the back of the hall.

Mac on the other hand stayed where she was, not trusting her voice or her legs to work, her heart racing as if she had just run a marathon.

* * *

Next part up soon, I promise!!! How did you find this bit? 


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks again to all who reviewed!!i told you i wouldnt keep you waiting long so here we are - part 2 of the fundraiser evening.

hope you enjoy it!!!!

* * *

While the judges were deliberating and the votes were being cast, the band for the evening set themselves up on the stage and started playing. Once Harm had left the dressing rooms he had been constantly waylaid in his attempt to find Mac, first by Admiral Chegwidden, then by the SecNav, who continued to bend his ear off right up until the point that Harriet appeared on stage and asked them to gather round for the results. Harm kept looking around the room, hoping to spot 'his' Marine, but as much his height was an advantage over a crowd, her diminutive height wasn't. She was, in fact standing in the middle of the crowd talking to Kate Todd, her eyes darting quickly around the room every few seconds trying to find Harm in the crowd.

"Ok, if I could have your attention please!" Harriet said into the microphone, trying to shut the audience up. After a few seconds, the steady hum of chatter faded out, and Harriet found a lot of expectant faces looking at her.

"First of all, I'd like to thank all of those who participated, you all did a wonderful job." She paused as the members of the audience starting clapping. She waited until the applause was dying out before she continued. "It's been a very tough decision, the judges have agreed that the first JAG and NCIS Idol should be….." In the background the drummer of the band did a little drum roll. "Gunnery Sergeant Victor Galindez for his rendition of 'Y Tu Te Vas' by Chayanne. Gunny looked stunned, but smiled graciously and headed up onto the stage to collect his prize: a bottle of champagne and a little trophy. He bowed to the crowd who were clapping and cheering loudly. "Ok, Ok, quiet down everybody!" Congresswoman Latham said as the stepped forward from her position next to Harriet. "Next we'll be handing out the prizes that you voted for. Voting was very close, and some of the awards have joint winners. Thank you to all of you who voted! The first prize, for the best costume goes jointly to…. Admiral Chegwidden and Dr Mallard for their impressions of Elton John and Frank Sinatra respectively." There were loud cheers and quite a few wolf whistles as the pair went up to collect their bottles of champagne. Agent Gibbs stepped forward, a grin on his face, as he said "The award for 'least likely to get a recording contract, oh it gives me so much pleasure to announce this as he has been talking about nothing else other than winning this contest for the last 2 weeks." A ripple of laughter emanated from the NCIS agents in the crowd, "The award goes to Tony DiNozzo, for his half of version of Tainted Love that we were treated to earlier." Gibbs grinned, and winked at the crowd, "Don't worry Abb's they loved YOU! Its only for Tony!" Abby Sciuto laughed at that, pushing her singing partner in the direction of the stage, whispering "Don't worry Tony, I'm sure Kate still loves you even if you can't sing!" Tony swaggered up to the stage, accepting his prize laughing. He turned and took a bow. "Thank you Tony" Gibbs added as his agent walked of the stage grinning. "Now ladies, here is the one that you've all been waiting for…the prize for most likely to melt someone's heart with their performance goes Harmon Rabb!!" Harm looked slightly stunned, despite his earlier joking with Mac, he had never expected to win anything, and had only chosen that song as a way of baring his heart to Mac. Harriet stepped forward to give him his prize as he came up on stage, embarrassment now evident on his face at the cheers he was getting. "Have you spoken to Mac yet?" she whispered to him as he took the champagne bottle from her. "Not yet," he whispered back quickly, "Do you think she liked it?!" he asked winking at her and stepping back to take a bow. Harriet had to laugh, although the wink he had sent her was meant to show confidence, she could see that underneath he was shaking inside, in case he had just royally screwed things up with his best friend.

"What do you think?!" Harriet replied with a grin. Harm nodded at her, and left the stage, intent on going to find Mac at that moment – he couldn't wait any longer. Unfortunately for him, the SecNav and CIA Director Webb had other ideas, catching his attention almost the second he stepped off the stage. They got so engrossed in their conversation that they barely noticed that Harriet was presenting the final prize.

"OK, now the final award, for best choice of song. This was a close one, but in the end, there was only one winner. Lt Colonel Mackenzie, for her version of 'Complicated'" Mac blushed hard as she went up to receive her prize, as she realised that it had to have been their JAG colleagues, who were obviously not as oblivious to the 'thing' between her and Harm, who had put in the majority of the votes.

After Mac had left the stage and joined Bud in the audience, Harriet carried on speaking for a couple of minutes.

"Once again, I just want to thank everyone for participating and making it such a fun event. The band will be here til midnight, and half of the proceeds made at the bar will be donated to Cancer Relief, as well as the proceeds from the voting, the raffle tickets, which are available behind the bar, and any other donations which will be gratefully received. Now, eat, drink, be merry and have some fun!!" She nodded to the other two judges and the band, who at once started on a song, and left the stage with Gibbs and Congresswoman Latham.

After the awards had been given out, the band started up again, waiters appeared to start setting out a buffet, and people started dancing. Mac still hadn't found Harm or vice versa, and she was starting to get a little bit paranoid that he had got scared and run off. She was standing talking to Harriet and Bud, but not really paying attention to the conversation as she was to busy scanning the room for Harm. Harriet looked at her knowingly, "I'm sure the Commander has just got waylaid Mac," she said with a satisfied smile. Mac looked at her and blushed, "Am I that transparent?!" she asked weakly, looking from Bud to Harriet. In a moment of bravado Bud replied, "Yes Ma'am you are… and so is he!" The two women looked at him in amazement. "Sorry Ma'am" he said, meekly looking away, the tips of his ears turning pink in embarrassment. Both Harriet and Mac laughed merrily. At that moment the group were interrupted by Harm's deep voice behind them.

"May I have this dance Colonel?" he asked shyly. Mac turned around and looked at him, her eyes dropping to the floor as shyness suddenly overcame her at the sight of Harm standing in front of her in his tux, holding a single red rose out to her. She took a deep breath and took the rose from his hand, looking up at him, a small smile playing across her lips.

"You may Commander," she replied, placing the rose and her evening bag on the chair next to her, allowing her to take her hand and pull her in the direction of the small dance floor as the band started playing 'The Way You Look Tonight.'

Harm pulled her into his arms when they reached the dance floor, wrapping his arms securely around her waist. Mac in turn placed her arms around his neck, looking up at him with a shy smile. For the moment, there were no need for words; they just looked at each other, swaying gently to the music, their eyes saying volumes.

Across the room, Bud and Harriet had been joined by Sturgis and Admiral Chegwidden, all of whom were standing watching the couple.

"You know I don't think I've ever seen the those two dance in silence!" AJ Chegwidden remarked with a grin, "Anyone would think they've just come to their senses!" he added with a wry grin.

"Is this going to cause many problems sir?" Bus asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"In the office?" AJ asked, "We'll work something out. We managed to for you and Harriet Bud, we'll find away for these two." The others looked relieved, although they all knew that the Admiral was just as happy as they were that Harm and Mac had finally started down the right path, they were all worried about the implications for the office. They were a good team, and no one wanted to have to lose one of the most integral members of that group, be it Harm or Mac.

As the music changed to another slow song, 'Iris' by the Goo Goo Dolls, Harm laughed suddenly. Mac looked up at him, startled as he broke the spell between them,

"What's so funny Squid?" she asked,

"I've just realised, I don't think I've ever danced a song with you in silence!" Harm replied, his blue-green eyes sparkling in amusement. Mac laughed at that, as she realised he was right.

"Maybe on this occasion words aren't really necessary?" she asked with a smile. In response, Harm pulled her closer, so that her head was against his chest, and dropped a kiss on her hair.

"You look so beautiful tonight!" he whispered softly. Mac looked up at him again, the shyness returning to her eyes, along with the look of a hopeful child,

"Do you really mean that?" she asked, a faint blush colouring her cheeks. Mic had always called her beautiful, but she had never quite believed it. Hearing Harm say it made her feel warm inside, and she couldn't stop a bashful smile from appearing on her face as he replied huskily,

"I've meant every word I've said tonight!" he paused, a look of mischief appearing in his eyes, "Apart from telling Webb it was nice to see him again!" Mac, who at his first words had felt tears of happiness spring to her eyes, giggled at that. Harm laughed too, and seeing the couple of tears that had spilled over onto her cheeks, lifted on hand up and gently wiped them away with his thumb. "Those are tears of happiness I hope ninja girl?" he quirked an eyebrow at her, letting his thumb linger on her face for just a second. Mac nodded, once again not quite trusting her voice to speak. The sing was drawing to a close, and she pulled away from him slightly, suddenly aware that they were being watched, albeit by their closest friends.

"Come on Flyboy, you can buy me a drink!" she said, smiling up at him. He nodded and followed her off the dance floor. They strolled over to their friends, noticing with amusement the way that everybody's eyes seemed to be drawn to their still joined hands.

"I'm just going to the bar," Harm announced as the joined the group, "Can I get anyone anything?" The Admiral and Sturgis promptly put in orders for a beer each, Harriet for a glass of white wine, and Mac an orange juice. Harm grinned good-naturedly, "That'll teach me to offer!" he said, "Sturgis, do you want to give me a hand?" Sturgis nodded and the pair left to go to that bar, but not before Harm placed a swift kiss on Mac's cheek and gave her hand a slight squeeze.

"Nice song!" Sturgis said with a grin as they stood at the bar waiting to be served. "Well…?" he added, hoping to get some details out of his friend.

"What?" Harm asked innocently.

"Has anything happened yet?" Harm gave him a look.

"Sturgis, we've been in this room the whole evening, don't you think you would have noticed?!"

"Well you were dancing very closely!" Sturgis replied with a cheeky grin. Harm rolled his eyes.

"We've taken a big step forward" he admitted, "But we haven't had a chance to talk yet."

"I'm happy for you buddy, you look great together, and you both look very happy." Harm smiled at him,

"Thanks. Now let's get these drinks to everyone." He said, picking up his, Harriet's and Mac's drinks and turning away, threading his way through the crowd back to the group. Sturgis shook his head in amazement, leave it to Harm to 'take a big step forward' as he had put it, without having to say a thing.

The pair rejoined the group and distributed the drinks quickly. Harm then took up his place next to Mac, casually wrapping his arm around her waist. A gesture that did not go un-noticed by the rest of the group, who could barely contain their excitement.

"Commander, Colonel," the Admiral started sternly, "I trust that any new developments from this evening won't interfere with your work while we come to an arrangement." The fear on both their faces made him want to laugh out loud.

"No sir, absolutely not sir!" they chorused nervously. AJ smiled.

"I'm joking with you both, I know you'll both keep it professional," he paused, "well as professional as it ever was in the office!" Everyone laughed at that. Harm and Mac's relationship had been a source of speculation for so long now that most people had presumed that there was something going on. Harm nodded to their commanding officer, and tightened his grip around Mac's waist, pulling her closer to him.

For the rest of the evening, they were almost inseparable, Harm could hardly bear to let go of her, and clung to her hand or wrapped his arm around her waist at every opportunity. About an hour after they had started talking to Bud, Harriet, Sturgis and AJ Harm politely excused himself, and Mac, from the group, giving some excuse about wanting to dance again. In fact, all he wanted was to be alone with her. He had noticed that the doors to the hotel gardens were open, and he steered them in that direction, hoping to slip out unnoticed. Mac didn't question him, just walked along side him contentedly.

They walked silently through the gardens, once again neither one of them wanting to break the spell, admiring the beauty that autumn had brought to the trees and the plants. Mac walked along happily, so lost in her memories of the evening that she barely noticed that they had come to a stop in an area of the gardens that were full of rose bushes, a few hardy flowers still holding their own against the weather.

"Sarah," Harm said softly, bringing her out of her reverie. She smiled, shivering slightly at his use of her Christian name and looked into his eyes. "Did you mean it?" he continued, "the song I mean?"

"I meant every word," Mac said softly, echoing his words from earlier. Harm pulled her close, and lent down reaching out a hand to lift her chin up, allowing her lips to gently meet his. Mac returned the kiss, her hands moving up to run through his hair. She let out a slight moan as he deepened the kiss, pulling her even closer to him. Eventually they pulled back, slightly out of breath, but both grinning widely.

"So," Harm said his voice husky, "Is it still complicated?!" Mac giggled, and pulled his head down for another kiss.

"Not even a little bit." She murmured just before their lips met.

"Good!" he whispered back between kisses. After a few minutes of trading gentle kisses, Harm pulled back slightly and looked into her eyes. "Sarah," he started, "I know we have a lot to talk about, and issues to work through, but just for record, I uh, want you to know," he hesitated, not wanting to push her too fast, "You'll always have someone who loves you." He could tell by the look in her eyes that she too was thinking back about the time on the Admiral's porch. "Me!" he added, just in case she needed clarification. "I love you Sarah."

Mac smiled radiantly at him, her eyes sparkling with happiness,

"I love you too Harm." She said quietly, feeling quite weak at the knees at the force of the flyboy grin that appeared on his face at her words.

* * *

Well there we go, I've finally got them together!! Don't worry (!) tho as I've still got at least a couple more chapters in my mind, which I'll get up as soon as I can. – Probably won't be before Monday evening now tho I'm afraid as I'm going away for the weekend!

If you have a second and any comments, please press the little blue button and let me know how u think I'm doing with this idea!!!


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry it took a couple of days to get this posted, I was away and then I wasn't well.

Thanks for all the reviews, I'm glad that you are all still enjoying it!!!

Hope you like this next instalment!!!!

* * *

"Do you think they have gone?" Harriet asked Sturgis, concerned that they hadn't seen their friends for almost forty-five minutes. Sturgis laughed,

"They wouldn't leave without saying goodbye!" he replied, "I think I saw them go outside." He winked at her, "So we probably won't see them for a little while!"

Harriet laughed,

"I'm so glad that they have finally figured it out. So many times over the past couple of years I have wanted to bang their heads together, or lock them in a room for a few hours until they realised what was between them. The whole office could see it!"

"I noticed it on my first day here." Sturgis admitted, "I've known Harm a long time now, and I've never seen him as happy as when he is with Mac. He practically lights up when she walks into a room!" He glanced over at the door, "Oh, here they are now." He added, nodding at the couple who had just entered the room, once again permanently attached by the hand. "And where have you two been?!" he asked with a wink as the pair joined them. They both looked at each other and blushed.

"Just for a walk" Harm replied, "Trying to escape from the prying eyes of our friends!" he added with a laugh. Both Sturgis and Harriet coloured slightly at that,

"Sorry buddy!" Sturgis replied, " We had your best interests at heart!" Harm laughed and stuck out his hand,

"That's ok, I guess I have you to thank in any case." Sturgis gave him a knowing grin, and shook his hand. "Mac, what.." he started.

"It's 11.28" Mac replied looking up at him with a grin. Sturgis and Harriet just stared at them amused beyond belief that they were already completing each other's sentences.

"Ok," Sturgis said after looking down at his watch, "How do you do that? How do you know what time it is without looking at your watch?"

"Good internal clock I guess." Mac shrugged.

"And the knowing what Harm was going to say?!" Sturgis continued, looking surprised.

"Just a good guess I suppose," Mack replied giving Harm's hand a squeeze, "Plus, when have you known this Flyboy to be on time for anything?! It's not like he owns a watch!" she added teasingly.

"Hey!" Harm protested weekly, much to the amusement of the rest of the group. "I think I'll take that as my cue to leave! Are you ready to go Mac?" Sturgis gave him a look.

"What?" he asked innocently, "Mac gave me a ride here!"

"Goodnight guys!" Mac said, giving them both a quick hug before pulling him away with a wink. "See you both on Monday." They circled around the room, looking for the other members of their team so that they could say goodbye.

* * *

When they finally made it back to Harm's apartment, Mac killed the engine and turned to look at him.

"So.." she started, unsure of what was going to happen next. She looked a little nervous.

"Sarah," Harm said his voice husky as he reached over and took her hand in his, "I would like nothing more than to take you upstairs, and not let you leave for a good few days." She blushed scarlet at his words, "but I know we have a little way to go until we reach that stage." She smiled at him, and nodded, the relief evident in her eyes. Harm lent over and gave her a gentle kiss, looking into her eyes as he pulled back reluctantly.

"What are you doing tomorrow evening?" he asked.

"Nothing," Mac replied with a shrug, "A night in with a takeaway and a chick flick."

"Could I entice you to go out for dinner with me?" A small smile played across her lips.

"Are you asking me out on a date?" she asked coyly, batting her eyelashes at him. Harm laughed. She looked so cute, it was all he could do to stop himself from pulling her into his arms and kissing her senseless.

"Yes." He replied firmly. "I'll pick you up at about half past 7?"

"I'd like that." She replied sincerely. "Where are we going?" she continued, wondering what she should wear.

"It's a surprise." Harm replied, flashing her his flyboy grin. "It'll be nice, but not overly posh." He added, correctly reading the unspoken question in her eyes. He leaned over, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear and gave her one last kiss before getting out of the car. "See you tomorrow Sarah." He said softly, smiling crookedly at her.

"Good night Harm." She replied, once again shivering slightly at his use of her given name. She waited until he reached the door of his building, and once he had turned and waved, she returned the wave and drove off in the direction of her apartment, singing along softly to the radio, a truly contented smile appearing on her face for the first time since the fiasco with Mic.

She hadn't been in the door 2 minutes when her phone rang.

"I just wanted to make sure you got home ok." Harm's voice came over the line. She smiled,

"Don't you trust my driving Flyboy?" she asked teasingly. He laughed.

"Well now that you mention it….!" He started, "I just wanted to say good night."

"Good night Harm!" Mac said grinning stupidly at the receiver.

"Sweet dreams Sarah," he replied huskily, "I love you."

"Love you too!" she replied, blushing again as she hung up the phone.

* * *

Mac woke up early as usual. She'd never been one to lie around in bed. Sit around in her pyjamas maybe, but she didn't like to waste the day. And in any case, she had to go shopping! She'd had a look through her wardrobe the previous night, and couldn't find anything to wear for her date with Harm. _I can't believe it, _she though as she lay there with a goofy smile on her face, _He loves me! He actually loves me. _She knew Harm so well that she knew he wouldn't lie about a thing like that. _I can't believe he sang that song…to me! _Her mind drifted back to the previous night. He had looked gorgeous up there on the stage singing. She smiled as her she wandered through her memories to the walk in the rose garden, and their first proper kiss. The phone rang, interrupting her from her reverie.

"Mackenzie." She said into the handset.

"Good morning Ma'am!" Harriet's cheerful voice came over the line. "How are you today?"

"I'm good thanks Harriet, you? How's little AJ?"

"He's fine. I was wondering if you would like to come shopping with AJ and me? Bud is working with Sturgis this afternoon, so I was thinking we could have a girly afternoon."

"That would be great." Mac replied, "I have to buy something for tonight anyway." _Damn, _she thought as soon as the words were out of her mouth. It wasn't like the thing between her and Harm was a secret, but blabbing about their date to the biggest gossip in the office was never a good idea, even if said gossip happened to be one of your best friends.

"Tonight?!" Harriet asked immediately, "Tonight? What's happening tonight?"

"I have a date." Mac said with a grin. Harriet squealed down the phone at her.

"With the Commander? Where's he taking you?"

"I don't know." She replied, laughing at her friend's excitement. "But you can help me find the perfect outfit this afternoon!"

"That's so exciting!" Harriet said, bouncing up and down a little in her seat, "And you can tell me all about last night! I'll pick you up at about half past 11 and we can grab some lunch ok?"

"Ok, see you then." Mac replied, hanging up the phone.

* * *

"He told you he loves you?" Mac looked away, embarrassed.

"Yes. But you can't tell anyone anything yet." She replied, "It's too new. I want to be able to explore this and work everything out without the office scuttlebutt following me around."

"Don't worry Mac, I think most people will just be relieved that you two have sorted yourselves out." Mac looked amused.

"I don't know what you mean"

"It was so obvious that there was something between you. The whole office saw it. I think the Admiral has been making contingency plans since the day you started working together." Harriet laughed at the expression on Mac's face, "Or at least that's what he said last night! I honestly think that the only person who was surprised was Loren, but you know how self-absorbed she is."

"Well you could have told me! I spent most of last night a nervous quivering wreck, wondering what he was going to say about the song, or even if he would understand that the song was about him." Harriet laughed at that.

"Honestly Ma'am, you really didn't need to worry, you should have seen his face when he saw you in that dress. Sturgis said he had to restrain himself from offering to help Harm pick his jaw up from off the floor!"

Mac and Harriet were wondering round a mall near Pentagon City, looking for clothes for Mac's date that evening. Mac was carrying her godson in her arms, while Harriet pushed the pram which was already stuffed full with a few new toys for little AJ and a couple of tops that Harriet had bought for herself.

"How about a dress like this?" Harriet pointed to a top hanging in the window of a shop. Mac looked where she was pointing. The dress in question was a kimono style dress, with slightly flared three-quarter length sleeves, dark maroon/red in colour, with white flowers and black ribbon at the seams and fell to just below the knee.

"That's lovely" Mac replied, walking into the shop, "and it would go great with those black boots I bought last week." She found the top on the rack, pulled out the last one that was in her size and went to the changing rooms to try it on. It looked great, making her feel girly and feminine, but at the same time not overdressed.

"It looks great!" Harriet said when she went out to show her friend, "Harm's not going to know what has hit him!" Mac looked suddenly nervous.

"I hope so." She said, turning to look at her reflection in the mirror again.

"Trust me, all you need now are some accessories."

The two girls, and little AJ of course, spent the rest of the afternoon shopping and laughing and joking like teenagers. Harriet was possible more excited than Mac about her date, who as the day got older became increasingly more nervous. _Don't be stupid,_ she berated herself silently, _its only Harm. He's been your best friend for years. You've been out for countless dinners. **Yes, **_a little nagging voice inside her said,**_ but this is different, this time it's a date and your track record with anyone, let alone Harm isn't exactly great in that area. _**Mac jumped slightly when she felt Harriet's hand on her arm.

"Mac, are you ok? You kind of spaced out there." Mac offered her friend a smile,

"Sorry Harriet, I guess I'm just a little nervous." Harriet gave her an encouraging smile.

"Don't worry, you are going to have a great time."

* * *

It was 19.27 when Mac heard a knock at her door. She brushed her hands down her dress nervously, before opening the door to find Harm standing on the other side, a bunch of lilies with a single red rose in the middle in his hands. He smiled at her, a slightly nervous version of his flyboy grin as he handed her the flowers and lent forward to press a gentle kiss to her cheek.

"Evening" he said stepping into her apartment, "You look beautiful Sarah." He added, taking in her appearance. She almost took his breath away: the beautiful dress revealing a perfect amount of cleavage as well as showing off to her perfection her long, toned legs her dark eyes sparkling in delight as he handed her the flowers. She blushed, for what felt like the millionth time in the last two days.

"Thanks Squid, you don't look to bad yourself." She replied with a wink.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Sure, let me just put those in some water and grab my jacket." She headed to the kitchen in search of a vase, throwing a cheeky grin over her shoulder as she asked, "So are you going to tell me where we are going yet?!"

"Nope!" Harm replied, "It's a surprise! Come on, we don't want to miss our reservations." He ushered her out of the door, his hand pressed gently against the small of her back as he guided her to his car.

He pulled the car up near a restaurant in central D.C, hopping out quickly and helping Mac out of the car before handing his key to the parking attendant. Mac's eyes brightened as she realised where they were headed.

"Legal Seafoods?" she asked, "I love this place, it's amazing. I can't believe you brought me somewhere that serves so much meat!" she added teasingly, poking him in the ribs.

"Now then Jarhead, just because I don't feel the need to stuff myself silly in Beltway Burgers everytime I drive passed the place doesn't mean I don't like meat from time to time." Harm retorted good-naturedly, "Besides, as the name says Ninja Girl, this is mostly seafood anyway!" They both laughed and were soon sat at their table, chatting happily. The waiter had just cleared away their main courses, and was bringing them the dessert menu when Harm reached over and took Mac's hands in his.

"Thank you for letting me take you out this evening." He said, smiling at her.

"Thank you for taking me" she murmured softly, lowering her eyes from the intensity of his gaze.

"Sarah," she looked up again at his use of her Christian name, "I wanted to say I'm really sorry about what happened after Mic left. I really wanted to be there for you." She looked down at their joined hands, unable to stop a couple of tears from running down her face at his words. "Hey Marine," he continued, reaching across with his other hands to lift her chin so that her eyes could meet his. Mac took a deep breath,

"That's ok." She replied hesitantly, "I understand why you had to go. I mean she was your girlfriend."

"I guess we really got screwed up along the way didn't we?" he said softly, "I wish I could have managed to say how I felt in Sydney."

"You did." Mac replied ruefully, "I just didn't listen to what you said. I know now that you didn't mean never, just not at the moment."

"I guess we're getting our second chance." Harm said smiling at her hopefully.

"Second?!" Mac replied a slightly amused but incredulous look on her face, "More like fourth or fifth!" she hesitated again, "I'm sorry too. About the whole Mic thing. I was so mad at you in Sydney, I didn't understand." A few more tears started to work their way down her face. Harm reached over and wiped them away with his thumb.

"What says we just start over. We've been getting back to the way things were so well recently. How about we just make a clean break, as if Renee and Mic and all that happened in between didn't happen? Do you think you can do that?" Mac leaned over the table, pressing her lips to his.

"I think I could be convinced to give it a go." She replied, her voice a little shaky from the plethora of emotions that had been coursing through her mind.

They continued to enjoy the rest of their meal, both a lot more relaxed now that that conversation was out of the way. They fell into their usual banter, teasing each other mercilessly, arguing about cases and chatting about their friends. They left the restaurant hand in hand, completely comfortable in each other's company, Harm steering her in the opposite direction to the car. Mac paused slightly as she realised they were heading in the wrong direction.

"Harm," she said, "The car's this way."

"I know," he replied tugging on her hand to keep her moving, "I thought we could go for a little walk first!" Mac was amazed at the sweet and romantic side of Harm that he kept showing: He was acting like the perfect gentleman that she knew he was, but had never truly expected to have the chance to be on the receiving end of his behaviour.

* * *

Their walk took them down to the White House were they both paused, each flashing back to the evening that they had first met in the Rose Garden.

"I thought I had seen a ghost" Harm said softly, "It took me about thirty seconds of conversation with you to realise that you were completely different to Diane. I think I fell for you in that moment." This time it was Mac's turn to reach up and wipe away that stray tear that had made its way down his face. He reached up as she did so, trapping her hand against his face with his own, looking down into her eyes. She could see that he meant every word, and the sincerity blew her away.

"My uncle Matt still asks after you, you know" she said "He got so excited when I told him I was getting married. He thought it was to you!" she laughed, "He was so disappointed that it wasn't." She looked away for a second, before looking him straight in the eye. "I guess things have their own way of working themselves out." Harm smiled,

"I guess they do" he affirmed softly, leaning down to kiss her with an intensity that surprised even himself.

"Come on Marine, we're going to miss the start!" he said as he pulled away, tugging on her hand again in a manner reminiscent of a small child.

"The start of what?" Mac asked, bewildered following him down toward the Mall, the Washington Monument clearly in view. Then she saw it. At the base of the Monument was a giant screen with speakers set up around the sides. All around she saw couples and groups dotted around on picnic blankets. "Old Movie Season on the Mall!" she exclaimed, "Of course!" She followed him to a quietly secluded spot with a perfect view of the screen where a blanket was all laid out ready, along with a basket of drinks and popcorn. Mac's eyes widened when she saw it. "Is this for us? Harm….how did you do this?" At her words a member of the Park Police appeared out of the shadows.

"Everything's set Harm." He said, nodding at Mac and reaching out to shake Harm's hand.

"Thanks Tony." Harm replied, "Send my love to Izzy and the kids won't you?"

"Sure thing. We'll see you on Tuesday right?"

"Wouldn't miss it." Harm replied, guiding Mac to sit on the blanket.

"Have a good evening." Tony said as he shuffled off.

"Harm…" Mac started, slightly speechless. "I can't believe you did this. And who was that guy?"

"Basketball buddy," Harm replied, grinning, "From back home. He and his wife have been living here as long as I've been at JAG. We meet up most weeks to play some ball. Sturgis comes too nowadays." Harm lent casually against the tree they were sitting under, pulling Mac towards him as the movie started. The film was 'It's a Wonderful Life' and they both loved it, discussing it cheerfully as they headed back to the car.

When they got back to Mac's apartment, she hesitated again,

"Would you like to come in for some coffee?" It was already gone 2am and Harm smiled ruefully,

"I'd love to. But I've got to be up early tomorrow, I'm driving out to Blacksburg to take Sarah for a spin, and then I'm driving back to D.C to work with Sturgis on the'Vette." He paused. "Would you like to come flying with me tomorrow?" He laughed at the dubious look on her face.

"I promise we won't come across any crazy hunters this time!" She smiled.

"I'd love to." He leaned in to give her a kiss.

"That's great," he murmured between kisses that left her legs feeling like jelly. "I'll pick you up at 0800?"

"I'll be waiting!" Mac managed to reply, a little breathlessly.

"Good night beautiful" he said, still not showing any signs of stopping with the mind-blowing kisses. Mac pulled away and looked into his eyes.

"Goodnight Flyboy. I love you."

"Love you too Jarhead," he responded with a lazy smile, leaning down to give her another quick kiss before pulling away and heading back to his car. Mac smiled dreamily and opened the door to her apartment, waving at him as he drove off. It truly had been a spectacular first date.

* * *

Done for now!! I'll have another chapter up in the next couple of days….for now I'm off to make pancakes – I love pancake day!!!!

I wasn't going to include their date in this chapter, but it just ended up writing itself!!! I know its very sappy, but I guess I was in that kind of mood, plus I absolutely adore D.C and got completely lost in memories of being there as I was writing!!

Hope you enjoyed it!!!


	12. Chapter 12

Thank you, obrigada, merci, gracias, grazie, danke for all the reviews you have been leaving me :o) I really appreciate knowing what you think!

Hope you like this next lil bit.

* * *

"I've gotta go, as much as it pains me to admit it!" Harm said looking down at the head of dark hair that was lying across his chest. "It's time for me to go and get the third degree…. I mean work on the 'Vette with Sturgis!" Harm and Mac had been out flying that morning and were now back at Harm's flat, curled up on the sofa listening to music and enjoying each other's company. Mac twisted her head slightly to look at him and pouted slightly.

"Ditching me for a car already?!" she teased. Harm lent down and kissed her gently. Pulling back, he grinned at the expression on her face.

"No, even worse…. for Sturgis!" he joked back.

"Thank you for taking me flying." Mac replied, a smile crossing her face as she remembered their flight. The view had been spectacular; the morning autumn sun had been shining, hitting the falling leaves giving the countryside below a reddish gold glow.

"And thank you for not getting me attacked by angry farmers.." she added with a cheeky grin.

"Anytime darlin'" Harm replied, the Flyboy grin out in full force as he shifted slightly, trying to get up without disturbing her too much. "Come on, I'll drop you home on the way."

* * *

**The garage, later that evening**

"So.." Sturgis asked as they started working on the car. "I haven't heard from you since Friday…I heard from Tony though, did you have a nice evening on Saturday? He said you were with a certain beautiful Marine Colonel we both know…"

"Sturgis," Harm said, grinning up at his friend from his position under the body of the car, "Stop fishing! If you want to ask me something, ask me!" Sturgis laughed.

"But that will deprive me of the amusement value of torturing you for information!" Seeing the look on his friend's face, he carried on, "so? Told her that you love her yet?!"

"Yep!" Harm replied with a grin, "On Friday night."

"Well you're still standing, and I presume since you haven't been able to wipe that love-sick grin off your face since we got there that she loves you too?!" Harm just smiled at him. "So where did you take her on Saturday then?"

"Legal's" Harm replied, reaching over to pick a wrench up off the floor. "Then to the Mall to watch the first in that old movies season they are showing. That's when I saw Tony - I got him to save us a good seat. Then she came flying with me this morning."

"Very nice too!" Sturgis replied with a wink. "And if I may say so, it's about time too!" Harm gave him a look, "What?!" he said innocently.

"You've only been here five minutes, how can YOU be saying about time too?!" Harm replied, a trace of exasperated amusement on his face.

"Buddy, I could tell from the moment I stepped into the Admiral's office how you felt about her. You sure as hell aren't good at hiding your feelings." He shrugged, "Plus some of your co-workers may have mentioned something to me.." Harm looked amused.

"Let me guess, Harriet?"

"And the Admiral." Sturgis responded, laughing at the look of surprise on his friend's face. "He was the one that assured me that you would both come to your senses eventually. Come off it Harm, I think the only people who didn't know how you and Mac felt were you and Mac!"

"Thanks for that buddy!" Harm replied, rolling his eyes at his friend. "Anyway, I noticed you and Bobbi Latham getting on rather well at the fundraiser!" He added, trying to change the subject, "Anything I should know there?!"

"Uh-uh" Sturgis replied, shaking his finger at Harm, "You're not getting off that easily. I want details! That way I can stop the office scuttlebutt when it starts!"

"There are no details to be had." Harm replied, "We had a very nice evening and we plan to enjoy many more together."

"Fine." Sturgis said, rolling his eyes. It was clear he wasn't get anything out of his friend. "Just for the record, everybody is absolutely thrilled for you both." Harm looked nervously at him,

"Even the Admiral?"

"Even the Admiral." Sturgis confirmed, "I have a feeling he has had a contingency plan for this eventuality to hand for a long time." At that moment Harm's mobile phone rang and he pulled himself out from under the car as he went to answer it.

"Rabb" Sturgis carried on with what he was working on. Suddenly a loud cluttering sound that made him look over at his friend. Harm's face had gone pale. The wrench that he had been holding was at his feet, which had to have been the noise he had heard.

"Is she ok?" He was saying into the handset. A small look of relief flashed across his face. "Yes, I'll be right over. Thanks for calling." He hung up and started looking around the garage wildly for his keys.

"Harm? Buddy? What's up?"

"Mac's been in a car accident. They've taken her to the GW emergency department. I've gotta go."

"Let me drive you. We don't need you to have an accident as well." Sturgis suggested calmly, concerned for his friend's welfare. Harm nodded, and together they headed out to Sturgis' car.

* * *

"A friend of mine was in a car accident and was brought here" Harm said, looking frantically around the emergency room reception for Mac. "Can you tell me where she is please?"

"What's her name please?"

"Sarah Mackenzie." The receptionist looked on the computer.

"She's in room 102, just down the hall on your left."

"Thanks" Harm said over her shoulder as he practically ran down the corridor she had indicated, Sturgis trailing in his wake.

"Mac!" he called as he ran through the open door, coming to a halt in front of her bed to see her eyes flicker open. He moved quickly to her side, gripping her hand in both of his, gently rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. "Mac?" he asked, as she turned to look at him, "Are you ok? What happened?" He looked down at her, concerned to see a fair amount of bruising on her arms.

"I was driving to Harriet and Bud's and someone ran into the side of me at a crossroads. The police think the driver might have been drinking."

"Are you ok?"

"I'm pretty bruised, and the doctor said I have a couple of broken ribs but apart from that I seem to be ok. The doctor did an ultrasound because my abdomen was quite sore, she said she'd come and talk to me shortly." Harm leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

"I'm glad you're ok. God I was so scared when I got the call Sarah." Sturgis cleared his throat quietly and said softly,

"I'll go and call Harriet and Bud to let them know you are ok. They are probably worried about you." Mac smiled at him,

"Thanks Sturgis. Sorry I ruined your evening working on the 'Vette!" He flashed her a smile, very reminiscent of Harm's Flyboy smile, _Do they teach that at Annapolis?! _Mac thought wryly to herself, and he left the room, guessing that they would want some time alone together. _He called her Sarah! _Sturgis realised as he headed down the corridor to the exit so that he could call Harriet. _And she let him. Those two are clearly meant to be together. _

* * *

Harm was sat on a chair to the side of Mac's bed. Since he had arrived he had barely let go of her hand in case something else happened to her. For Mac's part, she was a little groggy from the painkillers that she had been given and was dozing slightly, greatly calmed by Harm's presence, when she heard a knock at the door and the doctor who had treated her walked in.

"Sarah, I've got the results of your…" she paused when she noticed Harm sitting in the chair. She smiled at him, touched by the caring look in his eye as he watched her patient sleep.

"Doctor Richardson this is my partner, Harm" Mac said softly. Harm nodded at the doctor.

"Could you give us a moment?" Dr Richardson asked, unsure as to whether Sarah would want him in the room; she knew that Sarah was a JAG lawyer and was unsure whether the man was her work partner . Harm looked at Mac and started to get up. She shook head slightly and gripped his hand.

"No. It's fine. Anything you need to say you can say in front of Harm."

"Your ultrasound showed up a small problem with your uterus. You are showing the early signs of endometriosis." Mac looked away and nodded. She had half been expecting something to be wrong. She had heard the word before: her mother and grandmother had both suffered from it.

"Is it treatable?" she asked, feeling Harm's grip tighten around her hand.

"Yes. It's been caught early so we can do a laparoscopy and removed the damage tissue. There shouldn't be too much damage, or long-term effect on you reproductive system. We could book you in for surgery in the next couple of days and you could be back to work in just over a week. You wouldn't be able to lift anything for a few days either." Doctor Richardson watched the pair as they looked at each other, seemingly having a silent conversation with their eyes. Harm nodded.

"I'll stay with her and make sure she's alright." He said, turning and looking at the doctor.

"Ok then. Well I'll see when we can fit you in. Do you have any other questions?"

"When can you discharge me today?" Mac said immediately. She hated sitting in hospital beds.

"Anytime." The doctor replied, "We've given you the prescription for painkillers, I'll get the nurse to process your discharge papers as soon as possible. Do you have any other questions about your condition?"

* * *

A little under 2 hours later Harm was helping Mac up the stairs to her apartment. Her ribs were hurting and she was wincing slightly as she walked, allowing, for the first time in her life, her guard to drop down low enough to show weakness in front of another person.

"You doing ok Ninja girl?" Harm asked as he took her keys out of his pocket to open the door. "Why don't you go have a bath, get into your pyjamas and curl up on the sofa and I'll fix us some dinner?" Mac smiled weakly at him.

"I'm not really hungry, but the bath and sofa idea sounds amazing."

About forty five minutes later Mac came out dressed in a pair of cowboy pyjamas that Chloe had bought her. As she came out of her bedroom, the movement caught Harm's eye from his position on the sofa setting something up on the lounge table. He stared at her.

"What?" she asked, his intense gaze leaving her feeling a little unnerved.

"Nothing," he blushed slightly, embarrassed, "I just never knew that cowboy pyjamas could look so sexy." Now it was Mac's turn to blush.

"I think you need your eyes testing their Squid." She said lightly, making her way slowly over to him, "you've obviously gone blind!"

"Never!" Harm replied with a cheeky, flirty grin, "Now come and sit next to me so that I can try and peak down your top, and you can eat something." Mac slapped him round the head playfully, and then winced again as her ribs complained at the sudden movement.

"Harm, I told you I'm not hungry"

"But I can still look down your top?!" Harm said hopefully, the flyboy grin out in full force. She looked at him in mock annoyance.

"I wouldn't wanna scare you!" she replied with a grin, "My bruises are pretty hideous." She turned her attention to the table, where he had laid out the food. Her stomach rumbled suddenly at the sight of the pizza box sitting on the table. _How did he know that I would eat pizza before I knew it myself!?_ She thought in wonder. She reached out for a piece as she sat down beside him and he laughed huskily.

"I knew my marine would be hungry eventually!" he said in amusement. "I was hoping that maybe we could watch this?" he pointed to a DVD on the table.

"Shrek 2?" Mac asked, excitedly, "That's one of my favourites!"

"Well I guess that's settled then." He pulled himself to his feet and went to put the DVD on, returning quickly to rejoin Mac on the sofa, pulling her close and enjoying the scent of her shampoo inter mixed with one that was distinctly Mac. For her part, Mac, although sore and a little worried about her upcoming operation, revelled in the warmth and comfort of lying in his arms, safe in the knowledge that he would do anything in his power to help and protect her.

* * *

Well there we go, another chapter done. Hope you all like it. I think this is gonna end up being a lot longer than I had envisioned, but that's great since I'm still really enjoying writing it.

More soon, I promise!!!


	13. Chapter 13

Here we go again!! Enjoy!!

By the way, thank you for all my reviews:o)

* * *

JAG HQ - TUESDAY

"Sir?" Tiner knocked on the Admiral's door and went in, "Colonel Mackenzie and Commander Rabb were wondering if you had a minute."

"Yes Tiner, send them in." Tiner nodded to Harm and Mac as they passed him and entered the room, standing attention in front of the Admiral's desk.

"Stand easy." Chegwidden told them both, and they relaxed slightly.

"Sir, may I talk to you about a personal matter?" Mac started, hesitantly.

"Certainly, have a seat."

"Sir, when they took me to the hospital on Sunday after my accident, they ran some tests and discovered that I have a condition call endometriosis." She paused, looking to Harm for support. He reached over and gave her hand a quick squeeze. "It's in the early stages and not too serious, but they do want to operate soon to remove the damaged tissue."

"Are you in any pain or discomfort Mac?" AJ asked, concern for the woman he considered a daughter flashing across his face. Mac managed a smile at that.

"More so from my bruised ribs sir."

"You'll be wanting to take some leave then?"

"Yes sir," Mac replied, "They have me booked in for the operation on Thursday. Its an outpatient procedure, I'll be in and out within a few hours." AJ turned to Harm.

"And you're here I presume because you want to be with her during and after the op?" Harm smiled nervously; even though Sturgis had assured him that the Admiral approved of their relationship, the situation was still akin to meeting the parents for the first time.

"Yes sir. The doctor said Sarah should be able to return to her duties next Thursday, but that she shouldn't be left alone for the first couple of days at least. I was hoping to take some of my leave to make sure she doesn't get herself into anymore trouble." An impish grin flashed across his face and Mac shot him a look, "I mean to cater to her every whim." He continued.

"That's fine Commander. God knows the two of you have an awful lot of leave accumulated. Both of you take as long as you need." The pair got to their feet.

"Thank you sir."

"You're welcome. Before you go, I just wanted to let you know; I've had a word with the SecNav. We are working on an agreement that will allow you both to stay working here despite any personal developments that have recently occurred. I thought you'd like to know." Mac and Harm looked at each other in surprise.

"Thank you sir." They said in unison, before turning and leaving the office. When they got to the door AJ said,

"Take good care of her Harm." He meant both after the operation and in general. Harm turned slightly, his hand on the door handle.

"I will sir." He replied nodding at him. He understood the double meaning.

Admiral Chegwidden sat at his desk after the pair had left the room, a huge smile on his face. _I always thought those two would be the death of me, _he thought in amusement, _there's no denying that they make a fantastic professional team when they aren't bickering like an old married couple, but now they have figured out what was in front of them the whole time, they make an even better personal team. I hope Mac's going to be ok. _He stopped suddenly, the cup of coffee he had been drinking paused in mid air, half way to his mouth. _He called her Sarah. _He realised, _And he's still standing! They are going to be fine. _He concluded with a grin; _Harm will take good care of Mac, and they'll get the future they deserve, I'm sure of it._

"Well that went well." Mac said as they both walked into her office, shutting the door behind them. Harm walked up behind hear and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a gentle bear hug, dropping a kiss on her hair.

"How are you holding up there Marine?" he asked.

"I'm a little nervous," she admitted, turning in his embrace to face him, "but I'm glad you're here." They both looked at each other smiling for a few seconds, eyes caught in each other's gazes.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be" he replied sincerely. He pulled away, giving her hand a squeeze. "You know where I am if you need me, but I better get to work, I've got a meeting with a client in half an hour."

"I'll be fine. Good luck with your case." He flashed her a smile and left quickly.

* * *

For Mac, Thursday came around far too quickly. Although she knew that it was important that she go in for this surgery, she was, like most people, nervous and scared that something might go wrong. Her bruises from the accident had faded to that unattractive yellow-brown hue and that, coupled with the nerves about the operation had made her more than a little bit snappy over the last day or so. She was standing in the bathroom looking at her reflection in the mirror as she absent-mindedly brushing her short dark hair when she heard the knock at the door.

"Morning ninja girl" Harm said softly, leaning in to give her a kiss before dragging the bag he had next to him into the apartment. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Like I'll be glad to get back here this evening" she replied, the worry she was feeling evident in her eyes. She looked away as he tried to reassure her with his eyes and she felt him slowly tilt her chin up, forcing her to look him in the eye. Her legs felt weak at the intensity of the expression she saw in his eyes.

"You'll be fine Sarah." He said, leaning in to kiss her again. "We better get going though. You know what they say; the sooner we leave, the sooner we can get back!"

* * *

A little under 2 hours later, the nurses came into her room to fetch Mac.

"I'll be right here waiting when you get back ok?" Harm said, seeing the look of fear appear on her face.

"Do you promise?" she asked, sounding even to her own ears like a small child. Surprisingly though, she found that it didn't bother her. Showing weakness in front of someone, even Harm who had been her best friend for a good few years, was something new for her, and something she had never thought she would ever do. But somehow now, with Harm, it was ok. She didn't feel scared anymore. There was no need to put on a front with him.

"I promise." He said, walking with the wheelie bed to the door, only letting go of her hand so that she could go through in front. They started to wheel her off down the corridor and Harm had already turned away when he heard her voice.

"Wait!" she said. He turned around to see that they had stopped, and she was twisting round to look at him again. "I'm sorry I've been such awful company for the last couple of days." She said desperately. She didn't know what had made her so anxious to apologise at that moment, but she felt a weight lift off her shoulders when he moved quickly to stand next to her.

"Shhhh, it's ok" he said, leaning down and pressing a kiss on her forehead, and then one on her lips. "I love you." He whispered. "See you in a little while."

"I love you too." She said, calmer now.

* * *

Dr Richardson, the doctor who had first treated Mac in the emergency room, was actually a surgeon who had been helping out in the ER when Mac was brought in, and was the one who had carried out Mac's surgery. When the nurses told her that Sarah was awake, she went quickly to her room, eager to share the good news. She paused at the open door however, watching the tender scene in front of her with an almost voyeuristic fascination:

The tall handsome man who had been with her previously was perched on the edge of the bed, a completely smitten look on his face as he gently stroked Sarah's hair while she was dozing peacefully. His other hand was firmly entwined with hers. Dr Richardson shook her head slightly. _I would give anything to have someone to look at me so adoringly! _She thought with a wry grin, forcing herself to break up the moment and knock on the door. They both looked at her as she entered, but Harm made no move to shift his position on the bed.

"So Doc, what's the prognosis?" Mac asked weakly, fear still evident in her eyes.

"The operation was a complete success." She smiled, "We managed to remove all of the damaged tissue and there has been no actual damage to your uterus. Your chance of conceiving in the future is still normal." A relieved smile broke across her patient's face, and that of her companion, who lent down and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Thank you doctor!" Mac said, earnestly. "That's the best news I've had in a long time!" Harm pouted at that.

"Heeeeyyyyy!!" he whined, a teasing tone very evident in his voice, "That's what you said about me less than a week ago!"

"Can it flyboy." Mac retorted, laughing at the boyish expression on his face. Harm grinned and rolled his eyes at her.

Dr Richardson couldn't help but smile at the pair. They were just too cute.

"You should be fine to go home in a couple of hours, once you have been able to eat something. And then you should stay off your feet as much as possible until at least Monday. How much leave have you taken?"

"Until Friday." Mac replied, "But our Commanding officer has cleared me to take more if necessary."

"Well we'll make you an appointment for a follow up on Thursday then. We'll do another ultrasound just to make sure everything's ok and then we can clear you for work again."

"Thank you Doctor" they both chorused.

* * *

Finis…….for the moment, not forever!!! Next chapter'll be up soon. Let me know wot you think of where I'm going with this – in fairness all the planning has gone out the window now, its kind of ad hoc (I never know where I'm going to end up!!) but I hope I'm putting in enough soppy moments mixed with funny/silly moments!!!!!

Thanks for reading!!!!


	14. Chapter 14

Well here is the next bit – sorry for the delay in posting, kind of hit a bit of a roadblock in my mind and couldn't figure out where to go – im not convinced that this was the right way, but I hope you all enjoy it in any case!

Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter, and the many of you who have been repeatedly reviewing during the story, it means a lot so thanks :o)

* * *

Over the last few days, since Mac's operation, they had spent all their time together. Harm had all but moved into Mac's apartment, only returning to his place a couple of times to pick up some more clothes. And secretly, to pick up a small velvet box that had been sitting in the top drawer of his bedside table ever since his mother had heard that Mac's wedding had been cancelled. They had spent a lot of time talking. Even though they had agreed to put everything that had happened behind them, they still had a lot of issues to work out to be able to truly put it behind them. That week had allowed them to finally lay all the ghosts to rest, leaving them ready, if not eager to move on with the rest of their lives. Together. Other than that, they had spent most of their time snuggling on the sofa, more often than not snogging like a couple of teenagers.

"I could get used to this." Mac sighed, feeling all of the tension melting out of her body at the massage that Harm was currently giving her. Harm chuckled,

"Like what I do with my hands ninja girl?!" he asked teasingly. She rolled over to face him. Harm's mouth went dry at the sight of the 'come hither look' she was giving him, and he couldn't resist leaning in and giving her the most mind-blowing kiss that he could manage. When he pulled back, he laughed again at the slightly dazed expression on her face.

"It's not only your hands that I'm interested in!" she replied with a wink. He grinned smugly,

"I knew you couldn't get enough of me!" he replied, pulling back quickly to avoid the pillow that she quickly aimed at his head.

"Cheeky squid" she replied with a grin. "We both know it's the other way round."

"Well you won't get any argument from me there." He replied, flyboy grin firmly in place, enjoying the blush that appeared on her cheeks at his words.

"I can't believe tomorrow is our last day of leave." She said, flustered. "It's gone so fast." Harm grinned wickedly,

"Fancy playing hooky on Monday?!"

"I wish. But we've got to get back to work someday." Harm's face grew serious for a second.

"I'm so glad you are alright Sarah." He said, reaching out to give her hand a squeeze. The day before, the doctor had given her a clean bill of health, pronouncing her operation as a complete success.

"Me too." She smiled at him, "And I'm so glad you were with me through it all."

"There's nowhere I'd rather be Mac, you know that. You are the most important thing in my life." She smiled at him, a stray tear working its way down her face at his words.

"I'm amazed we haven't heard more from our incredibly nosy friends!" she replied, the look in her eyes silently acknowledging his words even if she couldn't voice her response. "Do you think the Admiral gave them an order to leave us alone?!" Harm laughed,

"I think he probably did. I spoke to him the other day; he wanted to know how you were feeling, and how we were doing. He also said that everybody was planning on going to McMurphy's tonight if you felt up to joining them?" he smirked, "I get the feeling it's been quite quiet in the office without us arguing every five seconds!"

"I think we should go." Mac replied, rolling her eyes at his comment. "It feels like ages since we've seen everyone."

"Together?" Mac shrugged, understanding the reasoning behind the question; there was the whole chain-of-command issue to sort out.

"The Admiral said he'd sort it out, and I don't want to hide this Harm," she looked at him, pleadingly. "It's not like it was ever a secret to begin with."

"That's true," Harm replied with a cheeky grin, "You did always want me!"

"Nice to see your ego's still in tact their flyboy!" Mac retorted with a grin.

"But you're not denying it!" Harm pointed out smugly. Mac blushed,

"There's no need, everybody knows that it was the other way round! You always were mine, flyboy!" Harm leaned forward so that their noses were touching, looking deeply into her eyes.

"So I'm _your_ flyboy now am I?!" he asked, his eyes dancing in amusement. She batted her eyelashes at him teasingly,

"Yep! And you don't get a choice in the matter!" she replied, kissing him firmly on the lips. Harm quickly deepened the kiss, trailing his hands down her body. "I…wouldn't…want…one..!" he murmured between kisses. He pulled back suddenly. "So we're going tonight?" he asked hopefully, relieved that she wasn't pushing to hide their new relationship.

**

* * *

McMurphys, later that evening**

As they walked to the door to McMurphys, Harm felt Mac hesitate and, squeezing her hand in reassurance, he looked down at her.

"Are you sure you want to go in?" he asked, not noticing Sturgis and the Admiral coming up behind them. She nodded at him.

"Yes, I'm sure." She reached up and gave him a brief kiss, "Come on flyboy. Lets go!" she added, tugging on his hand slightly.

"Nice of you to join us!" Sturgis' voice came from behind them. They spun round quickly, not letting go of each others hands, to see both AJ and Sturgis looking at them with unmistakeable looks of amusement.

"Admiral, Sturgis, good to see you." Harm said, shaking both their hands. "Shall we go in?" The four of them walked into the bar, finding Bud, Harriet, Singer, Tiner and Galindez sitting at the usual corner booth waiting for them.

They quickly bought their drinks and joined the group who were all pleased to see Harm and Mac; especially Harriet who eagerly pulled Mac off to one side to go and gossip in the ladies room. Sturgis noticed with amusement the slightly resigned glance that Harm and Mac exchanged as Harriet was dragging her off.

"So buddy!" he asked, deciding that since Harriet was taking care of Mac's interrogation, he should get started on Harm's. "How has your week been?! Is there anything that you want to tell the class?" Harm hesitated briefly, glancing at the Admiral for support. At AJ's nod he smiled,

"Mac and I are together." He said quietly, a huge grin breaking across his face.

"That's great, it's about time too." Sturgis replied with a grin. "I can't believe it took you this long to get your head out of your six and ask that girl out!" Harm rolled his eyes at him,

"Now its your turn buddy; asked the Congresswoman out yet?!"

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Harriet asked, concerned. Mac had told her the reason behind her unexpected leave, and she had been beside herself with worry ever since the Admiral had given them a direct order to leave the pair alone while Mac recuperated.

"I'm a lot better now thanks Harriet." She replied, smiling at her friend, "Harm's taken good care of me, and the doctor gave me a clean bill health yesterday."

"That's great!" Harriet said, giving her friend a big hug, "I'm so relieved. So," she added, with an impish grin, "How are things with Harm?" Mac blushed,

"He's been great," she admitted, "like a knight in shining armour. He's treated me like a princess all week!"

"You two look great together." Harriet said with a teasing grin, "I always knew you would!" Mac blushed again, absentmindedly twisting an imaginary ring around the fourth finger of her left hand much to Harriet's amusement.

"I guess we have you to thank for it!" she said. At Harriet's confused look, she continued, "If you hadn't organised that fundraiser, we might have continued the dance for a hell of a lot longer."

"I don't think that's true." Harriet responded, with a grin, "I think we would have found another way to give you to the shove that you needed! The Admiral on more than one occasion suggested locking the pair of you in the conference room and ordering you to sort out your issues!"

"Harriet!" Mac exclaimed, embarrassed. "Let's go back shall we? The others will be wondering where we are."

* * *

On their return to the table Mac slid into the booth next to Harm, with Harriet taking up her place next to Bud and they all settled down comfortably laughing and joking like usual. Unbeknownst to Mac, Harm and AJ had had a quick discussion whilst she and Harriet were in the ladies room, with Harm basically asking AJ's permission to marry Mac, seeing as she looked up to him almost as a father. About twenty minutes later Harm, at a nod from AJ move his arm from around Mac's shoulders and slipped it under the table, taking her left hand in his, giving it a squeeze. She looked at him and smiled briefly, wondering what he was up to since he looked a little nervous. She opened her mouth to ask him, and he quickly leaned down to give her a kiss to keep her quiet. At the same time, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled the ring out of the box it had been sitting patiently in. Without really looking at her, and not saying a word, he gently slipped the ring onto the fourth finger of her left hand, leaning in and whispering softly in her ear,

"I'm yours forever, will you be mine?" She looked at him, stunned when she felt the cool metal sliding up her finger. She nodded, words failing her completely.

"I love you so much" he whispered, threading his hand with hers and bringing them up onto the table. Mac's jaw dropped as she looked at the ring on her finger. It was beautiful: platinum, with a perfectly cut diamond in the middle, with two smaller ones on each side. She smiled at him almost shyly.

"I love you to Harm," she whispered back, unable to believe how much her life had changed in such a short amount of time. A few weeks ago she had been a day away from marrying Mic. Now she was engaged to the love of her life. The one who she had thought only saw her as a friend.

Harriet squealed suddenly, the whole table stopping to look at her. She was pointing to Harm and Mac's intertwined hands, a look of shock and excitement on her face.

"Honey, what is it?" Bud asked, a little concerned.

"You're engaged?!" she all but shrieked, "You weren't wearing that when you came in this evening. How..?! When..?!" Harm and Mac looked around the table; taking in the shocked looks on everybody, except the Admiral's, faces.

"30 seconds sir!" Harm said with a wry grin, looking over at AJ. "I told you!" The rest of the group looked between them both, confused.

"We wondered how long it would take someone to notice." Harm explained with a grin, "I said about 30 seconds knowing Harriet!" he winked at her. "I believe the drinks are on you Sir!"

* * *

I know it finished abruptly here, but I thought I'd stop there so that peoples reactions can be done in another chapter. I also might do a flashback to Harm asking AJ's permission…

All reviews welcomed – reviewers are my heroes!!!


	15. Chapter 15

OK this is going to take a bit of a strange form: from each of the main character's points of view. Hope you like it!!! **

* * *

_MAC'S POV_**

_I can't believe he just proposed! After such a long time of convincing myself that there was nothing between us, that he didn't feel the same way for me as I did for him, he proposed!!!! Chloe is going to freak! And Uncle Matt! He might try and wind Harm up a bit, but I know how great he thinks Harm is. When I was engaged to Mic, he was the only person who asked me why I wasn't marrying Harm. They were probably all thinking it. And now everyone's staring at us. Great! Thanks Harriet!_ I feel Harm wrap his arms around me and I relax slightly. He makes me feel so safe and protected. I feel my hand being pulled at, and look up to see Harriet grabbing at my hand, trying to get a closer look at the ring.

"Its beautiful!" she breathed, looking down at the diamond sparkling slightly in the dim lights of the bar. "Where did u get it from Commander?" she continued, turning her attention to the man standing next to me without letting go of my hand.

"It was my grandmother's." Harm admitted, "My granddad gave it to her, and my dad gave it to my mum." I feel yet more tears fill my eyes at his words. He's just given me a family heirloom! I couldn't be happier if I tried.

"It's beautiful," I manage to whisper, smiling up at him through my tears. "Are you sure your mum is ok with me having it? He laughs; a low chuckle,

"She came to town almost the moment she heard you and Mic had broken up and gave me the ring, telling me to, and I quote 'stop being so bloody stubborn like your father and ask that girl to marry you before you lose her again." I smile at that. I've never met Trish Rabb, but I have a feeling that when we meet, we're going to get on like a house on fire. I look down at my hand, still stretched across the table in Harriet's,

"Well I'm glad you took her advice this time!" I pull my hand back, realising as I do so that although I had nodded, I'd never actually said the word. I quickly lean up and whisper in his ear, "By the way, the answer is yes." Harm looks at me, and the intensity in his eyes, coupled with the full force flyboy grin makes me want to melt. He leans in and kisses me, and for a second I consider deserting all our friends and dragging him back to my apartment.

"I love you." He says softly, and we stare at each other, both grinning like Cheshire cats until we are interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat rather loudly. Looking up, I see Sturgis looking at us both with an unmistakeable look of amusement on his face.

"Congratulations you two." He said, reaching over to shake Harm's hand and to give me a kiss on the cheek. "If he doesn't treat you right Marine, then let me know and I'll kick his six halfway around the world for you!" he added with a grin. I like Sturgis, he's a good guy, and he seems to see me as a kid sister. We're about the same age, but I don't mind; its nice to feel cared for.

"You'll have to get in line Commander." The Admiral pipes up from beside him and I feel Harm squirm slightly under their gazes.

"Yeah, behind me!" I replied with a laugh. I am after all a kick-arse Marine! Harm trains his puppy dog eyes on me, yet another look of his that I find hard to resist, and I lean up to give him a chaste kiss on the cheek.

**_

* * *

STURGIS' POV_**

_Well he's finally done it. I have to say I'm proud of the boy. Wait til I tell Keeter! He's gonna love this story. They make an adorable couple and they both look so happy. Wait a minute; did I just use the word adorable?! I think I may have spent too much time surrounded by women_. I think to myself ruefully. Not that I should be complaining of course! _I can't believe he just proposed to her and none of us noticed. I saw Harm looking a bit nervous, but he had just come back from talking to the Admiral, presumably about their relationship. _I shake my head in wonderment and glance over at the pair, who are staring dopily into each other's eyes. I clear my throat loudly, hoping to interrupt them for a second, and they jump apart, grinning and blushing guiltily. I reach out to shake Harm's hand. The guy really has been like a brother to me, and to be honest Mac kind of reminds me of my little sister: tough on the outside, but a big softie at heart

"Congratulations you two." I say with a grin, "If he doesn't treat you right Marine, then let me know and I'll kick his six halfway around the world for you!" I continue, noting with amusement the brief look of fear that appears on Harm's face at my words, and the Admiral's who is quick to support my statement.

"You'll have to get in line Commander." He says with an impish grin as Harm squirms uncomfortably.

"Yeah, behind me!" Mac adds with a smile of her own. Harm pouts at her and she leans up to give him a kiss on the cheek.

_It's nice to see them looking so happy_, I think to myself, _although I still can't believe that Harm serenaded her at the fundraiser. He's such a big softie. _I watch how they interact with each other, momentarily jealous that I don't have that with someone myself. _Don't be such a baby, _I remind myself quickly, _Harm really deserves this shot to be happy. _I smile to myself as I notice Harm unconsciously pulling Mac closer to him, almost like a security blanket, while they are talking to the Admiral. Since I'm the newcomer, I'm still to some extent the outsider of the group, which gives me a chance to observe them all from an almost neutral point of view. It struck me on my very first day at JAG just how much of a family they were. Sure when he has too, the Admiral won't hesitate to pull rank or chew people out. But here, especially in the bar, he acts like one of them. He cares for them as if they were his own family, Mac especially. Everyone seems thrilled for them, especially Harriet, who can hardly contain her excitement. I pull myself from my own thoughts when I realise that the Admiral is speaking to me.

"Sorry sir? What did you say?" I ask sheepishly.

"I'm going to the bar." The Admiral repeated, "Would you like a drink?" I nod towards my half empty pint.

"Same again please sir." I say, moving aside to allow my CO to go to the bar.

**_

* * *

AJ'S POV_**

I get up and head towards the bar, intent on buying a bottle of sparkling grape juice or something so that we can celebrate. Obviously I can't buy champagne, but you can get some pretty nice non-alcoholic versions nowadays, and I'm sure that Joe the barman will have something in stock. As I lean on the bar waiting to be served, I twist round to watch the group. _They are a great team_, I think to myself, _I really couldn't ask for a better, or more loyal group than the people standing in this room. _My eyes fall on Mac. She has never looked more beautiful, or more content than right now. Her right hand is intertwined with Harms, a radiant smile on her face as she sits there listening to Sturgis and Harm bickering about something. I notice, with delight, the expression on her face change to one of childlike wonder as she glanced down at the ring on her finger. Although their relationship is likely to cause me a couple of headaches over the next few weeks while we sort out the chain-of-command issue, that is nothing in comparison to the number of headaches they have caused me from not being together. I smile to myself, and Joe calls to me.

"What'll it be Admiral?"

"Have you got any sparkling grape juice Joe?" Joe looks at me quizzically, tilting his head to look over at the others. He doesn't have to ask. We've been here enough times that he knows the reason.

"Sure, what's the occasion?"

"We're celebrating Rabb finally coming to his senses and proposing to Mac!" I reply with a laugh. The expression on Joe's face surprises me. I had no idea how many people were actually rooting for them to get it together.

"That's fantastic!" Joe replies, "This is on the house Admiral!" he adds, producing a bottle from the fridge behind him. He pulls out 9 glasses, placing them on a tray for me with the bottle.

"That's good of you Joe. Would you like to join us for a minute?" I reply, touched by his kindness. But then again I suppose that we probably are some of his best customers!

"Thanks. But this is a family affair." Joe replies with a smile. I'll be over to speak to them when I get a free moment though." I nod, and give Joe the rest of my order. Although I wasn't particularly surprised that Harm wanted to marry Mac, I was surprised, and more touched than I can express that he actually asked my permission to marry her. I've always looked at Sarah as the daughter I never had, and I'm so glad that those two have finally figured out what has been in front of them this whole time. Poor Harm, he looked so nervous when he was asking for my permission, and I couldn't resist giving him a bit a hard time about it. I look over at the group again, to see that Harriet and Victor Galindez were now crowded around the couple chattering excitedly.

_**

* * *

HARRIET'S POV**_

I can't stop smiling, _I'm so happy for them both. It's such a shame that it took them this long, but they look so happy, and so in love, maybe it was for the best. They both are so stubborn_. I think to myself with a grin as I sit and watch them sitting together. _That is such a beautiful ring, _I continue to myself, glancing down at my own ring and remembering the day that Bud gave it to me. I look over at him and smile. He seems to read my mind and mouths to me 'I love you.' 'I love you too' I mouth back, before turning my attention back to the conversation I was having with Mac and Victor.

"How did he propose without anyone noticing? I asked, intrigued, and I have to say, slightly gutted that I missed it. I notice with pleasure the blush that colours both their cheeks. Harm is deep in conversation with Sturgis and Bud, but I can tell he heard the question. Mac smiles at me, and replies,

"He slipped the ring on my finger under the table and whispered the question to me." She admits, her smile radiant at the memory. _That's so sweet, _I think, _and so perfect for those two. They are both very private people, and that really is a perfect private and public proposal. Who would have thought that the Commander would be such a hopeless romantic?! _

"That so romantic!" I breathe, "What did he say?" I added, trying to push for the more juicy details. Mac blushes harder at this.

"I'm not saying. But it was awfully sweet." She replies, looking back down at the ring that she hasn't been able to take her eyes off of since he gave it to her.

"It's a beautiful ring!" I say, smiling at her. She nods, unable to say anything, and I notice a few tears of happiness glinting in her eyes. I give her a hug. I can't express enough how excited I am for them both. They are two of the most important people in my life: mine and Bud's best friends, Bud's mentors, little AJ's godparents; and they both deserve so much to be happy.

"Congratulation's Ma'am" Victor adds, also reaching over to give Mac a hug. She smiles at him,

"Victor, we're off duty, call me Mac like everybody else." He nods nervously,

"Congratulations Mac," he touches Harm on the arm to get his attention and holds out his hand, "You too sir, I uh mean Harm." Harm smiles at the youngster,

"Thank you Victor." He replies, just as the Admiral comes up with a tray laden full of drinks.

"Here Gunny, hand these out to everyone will you" The Admiral says, gesturing to the glasses of something sparkling. I watch as the Gunny hands out the drinks as directed, flashing him a smile of thanks as he hands one to me.

"Excuse me!" the Admiral says, looking round at the group as we all fall silent. "Can I have your attention please." Our little corner falls silent, and Bud comes round to stand next to me. "As you know, Harm and Mac have been partners for a long time, and few people I know make a better team than these two, when they are speaking to each other anyway!" We all laugh at that, the Admiral has never spoken a truer word! "And now they have finally come to their senses, and seen that they make a great team in all senses of the word, I think you will all agree with me when I say, its about time too!!" there are a few murmurs of 'hear hear' from the surrounding group. I glance at my friends to see them both blushing furiously, _You better get used to it guys,_ I think with a smirk, _I think that's going to be said quite a lot over the next few weeks! _My reverie is interrupted by the Admiral continuing "So, if you would all like to raise your glasses to Harm, and Mac!" The Admiral finishes.

"Cheers!" I chime in unison with the others, and take a sip from the glass. Sparkling grape juice, I should have known.

_**

* * *

BUD'S POV**_

_I don't think I've ever seen the Colonel look this happy_, I think to myself, t_he Commander neither. I guess Harriet was right when she said that they were quite clearly in love with each other._ I look over at my wife, who is currently chatting to Mac and fussing over her ring, and catch her eye. 'I love you' I mouth to her quickly, smiling at her response. I turn my attention quickly back to the conversation I was having with Harm and Sturgis. Before long, the Admiral returns to the table with all the drinks and I move round to stand with Harriet for the toast, slipping her free hand into mine and giving it a squeeze. Looking at Harm and Mac I'm sure they are going to be as happy as Harriet and I, they sure as hell deserve it. I turn my attention back to the Admiral's speech,

"Here, here!" I say, agreeing with the Admiral's suggestion that it was about time too. Harm looks at me as I say that and I feel the tips of my ears go pink. I shrug my shoulders at him, laughing slightly to myself. _In fairness it's absolutely true, _I think to myself, _although I'll never admit this to Harriet, I always did wonder about them, there was always something there, but I always thought they were too stubborn to do anything about it. I owe them so much, they have done so much to help me, I couldn't ask for better mentors, or friends, I hope they are happy together, if anyone needs some luck in their love lives, its Harm and Mac._

As we drink to the happy couple, I watch them. It really was a sweet sight. Harm was standing behind Mac, an arm wrapped firmly around her waist as he held his glass in the other one. He was murmuring something in her ear, which was making her blush, and I notice Mac elbow him gently in the stomach, laughing at his reaction. I feel Harriet wrap her arms around me, whispering in my ear,

"See, I told you they were perfect for each other!" I turn to her, kissing her gently on the cheek,

"Just like us!" I say, loving that I can still make Harriet blush after these last few years, even more surprised that I could manage to come up with such a smooth line.

**_

* * *

HARM'S POV_**

I'm standing here, with my arm around the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on, and she's not threatening me with severe bodily harm, nor are we being threatened with fraternization charges; never has my life been so perfect. _She said yes, _I realise suddenly, the events of this evening finally sinking in, _I get to have Sarah Mackenzie's love forever. I really am the luckiest guy in the world right now. Asking the Admiral for his permission was just about the toughest thing I have ever done, including not dying in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. And now she's mine, and she loves me! I have to admit, although there are conversations going on all around me, I can barely concentrate, I am far too aware of Sarah's body pressed up against mine, her hand intertwined with mine, and the fact that she is wearing my grandmothers ring right now. Mom is going to be thrilled, Grams too. And I hope wherever he is, Dad is too. _I lean down to whisper in her ear,

"You look good in that ring," I say softly, smirking slightly, I just can't help myself "I think you'd look great wearing nothing but that ring though." I can see she's blushing and her slight intake of breath at my words makes me smile. She elbows me in the stomach gently, but doesn't really seem to mind my words.

"Get your mind out of the gutter squid," she whispered back with a giggle, "until later that is" she adds, pushing her body back slightly, so that there is no space between us. Now its my turn to take a deep breath in, a glance at her beautiful face telling me that she is more than aware of the effect she has on me. She turns slightly in my embrace to whisper, "And Harm? I know your Dad would be proud of the man you've become." I feel like I've been punched in the stomach, _is she a mind reader now? How did she know I was thinking about my dad jus then?_ I feel a surge of love run through me. She really is the one for me. No-one knows me better that Mac, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

Hope you liked this kinda random instalment – and that you didn't get confused by the layout, I know it jumped around a lot, and not much happened, but I hope you liked it all the same!

All thoughts/comments welcomed!!


	16. Chapter 16

Thanks for all the lovely reviews! I'm glad the slightly different layout didn't put you off!

Hope you enjoy this next instalment….!!

* * *

"So I was thinking," Harm started nervously, "as much as I want you to myself for the next few days, we should probably tell my mum and Frank, and my grandma about this." He lifted up their intertwined hands, showing off the spectacular ring, which was at that moment, the only thing either one of them was wearing. It was Saturday morning, and they were dozing sleepily in Harm's bed, with Harm getting his wish to see Mac wearing nothing but her ring. "I think we should do it in person," he continued, rolling over on his side to look down at her. Mac had been dozing comfortably, and as she felt his weight shift, she opened one eye and looked at him,

"I hope they'll like me." She said softly, her tone belying the nerves that she was trying to hide inside. Harm chuckled, and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead,

"Trust me, they'll love you. Mum already loves you and she's never even met you!" he continued to pepper kisses down her face, pausing as he came to her lips, "I'll call mum later and see if she fancies coming into town. And maybe we could take a trip out to Grams' next weekend?" he asked hopefully. At her nod of assent he kissed her firmly on the lips, and they quickly got lost in the sensations, all other thoughts forgotten.

* * *

About an hour and a half later, Harm was awoken by a knock at the door. He looked down at Mac, cuddled up against him, and sighed. He slid out of bed as quietly as he could, not wanting to wake her, and quickly pulled on some boxers and a t-shirt, moving quickly through his apartment to open the door. _Oh god, _he thought as he looked at the visitor, _I'm a dead man! _Mac woke up soon after, noticing how cold she felt now that he had gone, and quickly got up to go look for him, pulling on the first bit of clothing she could find: her underwear and the black shirt Harm had been wearing the previous evening. She stumbled sleepily out of his bedroom, following the smell of coffee and the sound of low voices. As she stepped into the kitchen, her eyes widened slightly at the sight of an older woman sitting at the breakfast bar,

"Harm?" she asked, reaching up hastily to run her hands through her messy hair. They both spun round to face her, Harm's face blushing bright red at the sight of her wearing nothing but his shirt. The woman looked at her and smiled, amusement unmistakeable on her face,

"You must be Sarah" she said, holding out her hand, "Since Harm seems to have forgotten his manners, I'll introduce myself! I'm Trisha, it's nice to finally meet you." Mac physically felt the blood drain away from her face, Harm's mum, she was meeting Harm's mum for the first time wearing nothing but her son's shirt!

"Nice to meet you Mrs Rabb," she said nervously, returning the handshake, whilst throwing an apologetic look in Harm's direction.

"Please call me Trish," She replied with a friendly smile, "and don't look so embarrassed, I'm just glad the two of you have seen sense finally. All I've heard for the last 4 or 5 years is Mac this, Mac that, its nice to put a face to the name!" While she was speaking, Harm moved round behind Mac, and wrapped his arm around her shoulder protectively. She looked shyly at him, a trace of amusement sparkling in her eyes,

"Is that right Flyboy?! I told you it was you who couldn't get enough of me!!" she reached up to tuck her hair behind her ears, at which point she heard a sudden gasp.

"Harm?!" Trisha asked, looking hard at her son, "Is there something you would like to tell me?!" She gestured to Mac's left hand, which had paused where it was.

"I..Uh,…We, umm" Harm stuttered nervously, much to the amusement of his mother, "I asked Sarah to marry me, and she said yes."

"Congratulations!" Trish squealed, getting up and pulling them both into a massive bear hug. "When did this happen?!" She was so excited she was practically bouncing; _We should introduce her to Harriet, _Mac thought in amusement.

"Last night." Harm admitted quietly, unable to stop his flyboy grin from appearing at the memory.

"And you didn't even think to tell your mother that you were dating?!" Trish asked, in exasperated amusement. Her eyes softened slightly as she watched the pair, who had exchanged glances that clearly communicated a lot more than she could see, and she wondered what that was. They were quite clearly made for each other.

"I'm just going to get dressed," Mac said quickly, wanting to give Harm some time alone with his mother to digest their announcement. She stood up on tiptoe and gave Harm a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving them alone.

Trish waited until Mac had disappeared, before turning to her son, eyes sparkling with mirth and happiness,

"She's just as beautiful as you described, I'm so happy for you both." she said, walking over to her son to give him a hug. "Have you told your grandmother yet?" Harm shook his head,

"We were planning to go and visit next weekend. I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner mum, but we only got engaged last night." He smiled nervously at her. Her approval meant the world to him, and he was trying to recover form the shock and embarrassment of having to introduce his fiancée to his mother when it was perfectly clear to everyone what they had been up to. He sincerely hoped that Mac wasn't going to kill him once she had got dressed.

"And you've been dating how long?" Trish asked. Harm blushed again.

"A couple of weeks," he admitted quietly, his expression immediately defensive, and he continued before she could react, "But mum, this thing between Mac and I is.." she cut him up.

"Harm, you don't have to justify yourself to me. I'm your mother, I love you. But just to set your mind at ease, even I know that the pair of you have been together in one way or another for the last 5 years! There's a bond between you that nothing can break. For you two, there is no such thing as too soon! Frank and are so proud of you Harm, and your dad would be too." Harm looked away, embarrassed to feel a few tears pricking at his eyes at his mother's words. He pulled his mum back for another bear hug,

"Thanks mum," he whispered, "for everything."

"Your welcome," Trish replied, pulling back to look up at her son, "Now you go and get dressed too, I'm taking you both out for lunch to celebrate; I need to get to know my future daughter-in-law!"

* * *

"Oh my god, Harm that was so humiliating!" Mac said, the instant he stepped back into his bedroom. "You should have come and woken me up and warned me!" Harm had the grace to look embarrassed,

"I'm sorry baby, but she had only just got here, I didn't know she was going to be in town this weekend!" Harm pouted slightly. Mac laughed, she found it very hard to resist most of Harm's expressions, and this one was no exception. She walked over quickly, and kissed him gently, wiping the pout of his face. When they pulled back, Harm smirked at her, "still, you looked great wearing my shirt…" she smacked him lightly on the arm and stepped away from her embrace. "Get dressed sailor," she said teasingly, "I'm going to go ask your mum for embarrassing stories about you!" She winked at him and left the room. He stared after her retreating figure, a smile playing across his lips. _I really am the luckiest guy alive, _he thought as he headed to the shower, _I really hope Mac and mum get on ok. And Grams too. She is going to love Mac. I can't believe how much my life has changed in the last few weeks. What would I have done if she had married Mic, _he wondered for the umpteenth time in the last couple of weeks, _It would have killed me. _He smiled to himself as his mind drifted away from the past, to the events of the previous evening. He was still in awe that she had said yes, that he finally had the chance to love her like he had always wanted to.

* * *

When Mac left Harm, she headed nervously back to the kitchen to join her future mother-in-law, finding her flicking through a photo album she had found on the side and sipping a cup of coffee. Mac paused, silently berating herself when she realised that her hands were shaking slightly. _Suck it up Marine! S_he told herself firmly, clearing her throat quietly.

"May I join you?" she asked hesitantly. Trish looked up and gave her a huge smile.

"Please, come, sit!" she exclaimed, indicating the seat next to her. "I've been waiting so long to meet you. Harm has told me so much about you." Mac blushed,

"All good I hope?!" she asked weakly,

"Nothing but!" Trish replied with a laugh, "He's done nothing but sing your praises for the last 5 years!"

"It's great to meet you too." Mac admitted with a smile, "although I'm terribly sorry for my appearance this morning." She blushed again.

"Don't worry about it dear. I can't say it wasn't a surprise, but it was also a bit of a relief to see that the two of you had finally come to your senses. Tell me, when, and how did this happen?!"

"A couple of weeks ago we had our annual JAG fundraiser, a singing contest. Harm sang 'Crazy Love' by Rod Stewart, do you know it?" at Trish's nod she carried on, a smile playing across her face at the memory. "He didn't take his eyes of me the whole time. It was the most romantic moment of my life. After that we took a walk in the rose garden of the hotel, and finally had the talk that we had been waiting 5 years to have." Mac looked up at Trish, seeing wistful tears in her eyes, "Then last night, he proposed when we were in the bar with everyone."

"He proposed in front of everyone?!" Trish asked, surprised, when it came to his emotions, Harm was an intensely private person, and she knew how hard he must have found singing to Mac, let alone proposing to her in a room full of people. Mac shook her head understandingly,

"No, not in front of everyone. We were sitting at the table with the rest of JAG and he slipped the ring onto my finger under the table and whispered to me 'I'm yours forever, will you be mine?'"

"Who would have thought that my son could be such a romantic!" Trish said with a laugh, truly touched by the story. She had instantly liked Mac, and from the second she had seen them together, could see that they were crazy about each other. "You are obviously good for him." She continued, "Now, how about you tell me some stories about my son that he might not have told me!"

A few moments later, Harm appeared, to find two of the most important women in his life, laughing hysterically at the story that Mac was recounting.

"To this day, I am sure he is the only lawyer to ever accidentally set off a gun that was part of the evidence in the middle of open court!" Mac giggled, and the two of them were almost doubled over with laughter.

"As I recall," Harm said teasingly, "I have never seen you duck so fast Jarhead!" Mac rolled her eyes at him and repeated her words form a few years earlier,

"I'm a Marine Harm, we don't duck we take cover."

"Sure ninja girl, you keep telling yourself that!" he replied, poking his tongue out at her.

"Yeah yeah flyboy, just remember, I'm not the one who put bullets in the ceiling of the courtroom!"

"They're still there?!" Trish asked in surprise. Mac giggled,

"Yeah, they left them there as a little tag, Harm's version of a graffiti tag!" she said, reaching out for Harm's hand to pull him towards her. He looped his arm around her shoulders, and smiled at his mum.

"I think it's safe to say I shouldn't leave the two of you alone ever again!" He said with a grin, "A man must have some secrets you know."

"Whatever you say dear!" Mac said mockingly, winking at Trish who laughed at them both.

"What do you say we go out for lunch to celebrate then?" she said, "Also, Harm, you really must phone Frank and let him know the news."

* * *

Yeah I know, a bit of a random chapter that one, but I hope you liked it all the same! If you want me to keep going then let me know!!!!!

:o)


	17. Chapter 17

Sorry this has been so long in coming, I hope you find it worth the wait!

Thanks for all who have reviewed so far, I love to hear your comments and opinions!

* * *

Mac couldn't stop the smile from appearing on her face as she walked into JAG headquarters on Monday morning. She had had a great weekend, and she was so glad to be back at work. They had spent all of Saturday with Trish, getting to know one another properly, and she had ended up spending Sunday with Harriet and baby AJ while Harm and Sturgis worked on his Corvette.

"Welcome back Ma'am" Gunny said as she walked through the bullpen, noting with amusement the expression on her face.

"Thanks Gunny" she replied with a warm smile, "Is Commander Rabb in yet?" Although they were engaged, they had decided to keep things a bit quiet for a while, with only their close friends knowing, until the Admiral had had a chance to sort out the chain-of-command issues. A positive result of this was that it enabled them to take things slow, despite the fact that they had been practically dating for the last 4 or 5 years, and in truth couldn't get enough of each other, they had both agreed that they should use the next few weeks and months to act like a new couple, learning all about each other just enjoying getting to know each other again.

"No Ma'am," Victor replied with what could only be described as a smirk, "He rang to say he was running late. He should b here by staff call though." She couldn't resist rolling her eyes in mock exasperation; Harm was never on time for anything. She nodded to Gunny and continued through the bullpen to her office, nodding at the staff who acknowledged her presence with repeated 'welcome back ma'ams.' When she got to her office she paused at the doorway in surprise; sitting on her desk were a beautiful bunch of lilies in a vase. She quickly moved up to the desk, picking up the card that was perched on top of the flowers.

'**Welcome back beautiful!' **it read, **'lots of love, Harm'**

She felt herself blushing, and stood, re-reading the note, a huge smile on her face. The sound of a door shutting behind her pulled her mind back to the present, and she turned around to see who it was. Harm was standing there, a cheeky smile on his face as he closed the blinds on her window.

"Good morning" he said huskily, walking over and giving her a soft kiss on the lips.

"Thank you for the flowers." She said softly, "they're beautiful! But that's not exactly keeping things quiet is it?!"

"You can just say they're from a secret admirer!" Harm replied, unbothered by her concerns. He really just wanted to shout out to the world that he was engaged to the woman of his dreams, but he understood the reasons they had agreed to secrecy.

"Hmm," she replied with a laugh, "and surely they won't guess that they're from you when you have just come in here, shut the door and closed the blinds!!" Harm coloured slightly at that,

"I didn't think of that!" he replied with a grin, then he shrugged, "its not like we've never been the subject of office scuttlebutt before! That's all it will be." He grinned easily at her, and pulled her closer towards him, "can I have a proper good morning kiss now?!" he added with an innocent smile.

"Cheeky squid!" Mac replied with a giggle, leaning forward and giving him a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer, murmuring,

"Yes, but I'm your cheeky squid." They were interrupted by a knock at the door, and both jumped apart quickly, blushing like schoolchildren.

"Come in" Mac called, moving round to behind her desk as Harm too up the seat opposite. Harriet stuck her head round the door, smirking knowingly at them,

"Sir, Ma'am, I was wondering if you had any plans for Columbus Day?" they both shook their heads and she carried on, "would you like to come over for dinner? Mikey is home for a visit, and we thought it would be nice to have everyone over. Commander Turner, the Admiral, Tiner and the Gunny have all agreed."

"That would be lovely Harriet" Mac replied, smiling at her friend, "Is there anything we can bring or do to help?"

"No that's fine, just bring yourselves. Your welcome to come over earlier in the day if you want, I know little AJ would love to see you." She grinned impishly, "I'll leave you two alone," she said with a wink, "Don't be late for staff call!"

When she had gone, Harm and Mac looked at each other and grinned guiltily,

"I suppose I better go" Harm said with a grin, "See you at staff call." He winked at her, and slipped out of her office.

* * *

At staff call Harm took up his usual place next between Mac and Sturgis, rather unsubtly sneaking glances at her while the Admiral was handing out cases.

"Commander?" The Admiral asked, amusement evident in his voice, "Are you with us this morning?!" Harm jumped slightly,

"Yes sir!" he replied, snapping to attention.

"At ease Commander!" AJ replied, clearly enjoying watching Harm squirm slightly, "Just make sure you keep your mind on the case at hand." The others in the room all tried their hardest to hide their smiles at the blush that quickly appeared on Harm's face, Mac especially. She hated to admit it, but it was quite distracting having him sitting so close, knowing they had to behave like professionals, not to mention military officers. Luckily for her, her poker face was better than his.

"Yes sir!" Harm replied, also trying to keep a smile from appearing on his face. He felt like a teenager again. He tried his hardest to pay attention during the rest of the meeting but found it nearly impossible to stop his thoughts from wondering to a certain Marine Colonel, sat not a foot away. _Damnit! _He thought, _How is I can't concentrate, but Mac is having no problem whatsoever?! I'll have to get her back for that! _He smirked as his mind ran over the various possible ways to ruin, or at the very least interrupt her concentration. He got so carried away in these thoughts that he completely tuned out what was going on around him, only being pulled back to the real world by the Admiral's call of:

"Dismissed!" Automatically he jumped to his feet, bringing himself to attention in time with the others, secretly thanking god for his military training which had made some things instinctive.

He turned to follow Sturgis out of the door when he heard the Admiral's voice behind him,

"Colonel, Commander, can you hold on a second please?" Harm looked down at Mac and smiled slightly, hoping that the Admiral wasn't about to berate him, or them, for his lack off attention that morning. They looked expectantly at their commanding officer who didn't keep them waiting long.

"I just wanted you to know that the SecNav and I have come to an agreement to suit your new uh personal arrangement. Since the two of you are the same rank, there are no problems of fraternization charges as you know, but to circumvent the chain-of-command issue we have decided that Commander you will resume your position of military liaison to the Hill, but still work out of this office and work on JAG cases when you are free to do so. Does that seem satisfactory to you both?" Harm smiled and nodded.

"Thank you sir. I, uh we, really appreciate your support in this matter." He said, unconsciously glancing at Mac for support.

"You welcome Commander, Colonel. Now your assignment to the Hill will start as of next Monday, so I expect you two to keep things professional between you for the next week or so. Not that anyone is going to be surprised by this turn of events of course, but I need to give the impression that I have some semblance of control you know." He smiled at them warmly and they both laughed, still not quite believing how easy it had been for them, and embarrassed by the Admiral's repeated suggestion that it was about time too.

"Thank you sir!" they chorused.

"Dismissed." They snapped to attention and quickly left the room, chatting easily as they headed to their offices. Mac paused in the doorway to her own, inhaling the scent of the lilies still sitting on her desk.

"Are you ok with this Harm?" she asked, she knew how much he enjoyed being a lawyer and trying cases, and she didn't want him to feel like he had to give that up just so that they could be together.

"Are you kidding?" he asked, flyboy grin firmly in place, "This way I get you, JAG and the ability to listen to and tell politicians when they are wrong!" He winked at her, "Anyways partner, we better get reviewing these files, we have a meeting with the client at 1100." For a moment she looked like she wanted to say more on the matter, but she settled for offering him a shy smile and walking back into her office. She had barely had time to sit down and log in to her computer when she heard a knock at the door, and looked up to see him leaning casually on the doorframe, a pile of files in his arms.

"Since we're working together on this, wanna review the files together?" he grinned at her again, and she felt her knees turn to jelly.

"Sure, if you promise to behave Flyboy!" she retorted with a grin. They had reviewed files together a million times over, but at this moment in time Mac honestly wasn't sure if it was a good idea given the state of their concentration skills when the other was in the room.

"I'll behave if you'll behave!" Harm replied with a flirtatious grin. Mac laughed, and put on her best prim and proper voice,

"Then I guess we won't have a problem then will we sailor?!" she teased back, grabbing the top file from her file and leaning back comfortably in her chair.

They sat reading in silence for about forty-five minutes before Harm started to get distracted again.

"Maaaacccccc" he whined, trying to get her attention. She rolled her eyes, but didn't look up; that was until paper aeroplane came flying towards her, landing neatly in the middle of the piece of paper she was currently reading.

Without looking at him, she quietly unfolded the aeroplane and read the note inside.

**I'm booorrreeed! **it read, **can you think of any ways to entertain me?! **She chuckled, still refusing to look at him. Another 3 minutes passed, and then another paper aeroplane sailed in her direction, this time hitting her squarely on the forehead.

**Look at me!** This one read, and she smiled, looking up at her Flyboy with a look of pretend exasperation.

"I'm trying to.." she trailed of and collapsed into giggles; Harm was sitting in the other chair staring at her with puppy dog eyes, a paper version of what was obviously meant to be her Marine cover sitting on top of his head. "what are you wearing!?" she asked, unable to stop the very un-Marine like giggles from escaping. She loved this playful side of Harm that she was only just really starting to see properly.

"I think I'd make a great Marine, don't you jarhead?!" he asked, his laughter mingling with hers.

"You couldn't hack it squid!" she retorted with a grin, "you like to duck too much!" Harm pouted at her and took the paper hat off his head, placing it on the desk next to her flowers.

"I could too!" he replied "Is it time to go meet our client yet?"

"13 minutes" Mac said, "Now get your attention back onto the case flyboy!" she added, with mock severity in her tone.

"Yes Ma'am!" he gave a jokey salute and a wink, before returning his attention to the file on his lap.

* * *

There we go, felt like a bit of lightheartedness and fluff to be getting on with - next up Columbus Day – if anyone has any better suggestions for a mid-autumn holiday that they might have the day off for then I really would appreciate it – I got this one from the wonderful wikipedia but I' not convinced its real:o)

After Columbus day comes the visit to Grams' place.

Hope you are all still enjoying it! Let me know!!


	18. Chapter 18

Here we go, next chapter is up, fingers crossed it'll meet you expectations!!

Thanks to all those who have left reviews for the last few chapters :o)

* * *

"Harm, Mac thank you for coming!" Harriet said with a smile, taking the bottle of wine and sparkling grape juice that Harm offered her and ushering them both into the house.

"How are you both?"

"Fine thanks Harriet," Mac replied with a smile. "Hi Bud!" she continued as Bud came up to join them, baby AJ in his arms. "Hi little one!" she said, reaching out to place her finger in the little boys hand.

"Do you want to go and say hi to Auntie Mac sweetheart?!" Bud asked, and Mac gently took him from Bud's arms, cradling him comfortably in her own.

"Hi handsome!" she said softly, rocking him gently as he started to fuss. Harm smiled at the picture; she looked so comfortable with a baby in her arms, and he couldn't wait until the time when it was their baby she was holding. He moved forward from his position next to Harriet and dropped a quick kiss on his godson's forehead.

"Hey sport!" he said, "I brought you a little present!" AJ just looked up at him with his big blue eyes and gurgled happily as Harm brought from his pocket a small cuddly toy of a plane.

"Thanks Harm, you shouldn't have!" Harriet said with a laugh, watching how naturally Harm and Mac interacted with her son. They really would make wonderful parents one day.

"Would you like a drink or anything?" Bud asked as they headed through the house into the kitchen. Shortly after, Harm followed Bud into the lounge, where they sat chatting easily while they watched a football match. Mac and little AJ stayed in the kitchen with Harriet.

"Are you sure I can't do anything to help Harriet?" Mac asked, feeling slightly guilty watching her friend rush around the kitchen.

"No, it's fine," Harriet replied with a smile, "I've got it mostly under control. Besides, you have your hands full with your godson!" Mac smiled and looked down at the little boy who had one hand wrapped securely around the necklace that she wore around her neck with one hand, the other gripped firmly around the wing of the little plane that Harm had given him a few minutes earlier.

"So how are you doing?" Harriet asked, "How is everything with Harm? I hear you met his mother at the weekend?" Mac smiled and blushed,

"Everything's wonderful," she admitted shyly, "he has been amazing, I'm so glad we have finally got to the same page."

"You know, I always wondered about you two," Harriet said with a grin, "Ever since I started working at JAG I could tell that there was something bubbling beneath the surface, but you were both always dating other people, or fighting like cats and dogs!" Mac laughed,

"You aren't the only one. Shortly after I met Harm, my Uncle Matt asked me the strangest question. He wanted to know if I believed in love at first sight. I said I didn't know, but I was lying. I knew he was referring to Harm, and I wasn't ready to face up to it just yet. We've been through so much together, and hurt each other so much at times, but now none of that seems to matter." She glanced down at her engagement ring, which baby AJ was now happily pulling at, "I still can't believe this is happening though!"

"Oh I can!" Harriet replied with a giggle, "you two are meant for one another, any fool can see that. Have you given any thought to a date yet?"

"We've talked about it, and we thought maybe next fall, maybe October. We've both agreed that we shouldn't rush this, we want to enjoy simply being a couple for a while."

"That's fair." Harriet admitted, "Although if you ask me, you have basically always been a couple, just without the physical bits of being in a relationship!"

"Harriet!" Mac exclaimed with a laugh, "That is so not true!" Harriet smiled slyly,

"You can't deny that there was always a connection between you though!"

"No," Mac admitted, "that's true. Anyway, let stop talking about me and Harm, we don't want the squid to overhear and a get a big head now do we!" she laughed, bouncing little AJ up and down on her knee as she did so. "Are you sure you don't need any help Harriet?" she asked, as her friend hurried around the kitchen.

"I'm fine, honestly!" Harriet assured her, "Although if you fancied doing something; Bud and I were planning on taking little AJ for a walk in the park, but we've run out of time. I don't really have time anymore, but maybe you, Harm and Bud could go?"

"Sure, that would be great, but are you sure you wouldn't prefer me to help you?" Mac replied,

"Nah its fine, you go and enjoy the sunshine with AJ before winter hits us properly!"

"Well, I'll go and ask the boys, see if we can drag them away from the TV for half an hour or so!"

* * *

As she went into the next room to speak to Bud and Harm, Mac paused, unseen, in the doorway watching the scene in front her in amusement. Harm and Bud were both leaning forward in their chairs, shouting at the referee who had obviously made a bad decision about something.

"Something wrong boys?" she asked with a grin as she moved into the room to stand next to Harm, who smiled up at her.

"Stupid referee." He replied, reaching out to take her hand in his.

"Harriet was wondering if we would like to take little AJ for a walk around the park, since its such nice weather." Mac said, looking at the two men in front of her with and expectant look on her face. Harm looked at Bud and shrugged,

"Sure, that would be great." Bud nodded his agreement, but said,

"I take it Harriet has too much to do to be able to go?" at Mac's nod he continued, "I better stay and help her, even though I'll probably get chased out of the kitchen! Will you two be ok on your own?"

"Sure Bud," Harm grinned, looking forward to spending some time with two of his favourite people. "We'll be fine."

"Yeah, don't worry Bud, I'll make sure Harm doesn't do anything too stupid. At least you know you have one responsible person looking after your son!" Mac added with a teasing grin at her fiancé.

"Hey!" Harm protested weakly, much to the amusement of the others, who both laughed loudly. Eyes sparkling wickedly, he gave a quick, sharp tug with the hand which was attached to Mac's, leading her to end up sprawling his lap. "So you think that's funny do you jarhead?!" he asked, tickling her mercilessly. Mac shrieked and squirmed in his grip trying escape, but Harm had his other hand wrapped firmly around her waist, holding her securely against him. "Well?!" he continued, eyes dancing merrily.

"Ye…..I mean….no!" Mac managed to choke out between giggles. The commotion they were making had caught Harriet's attention from the kitchen and she appeared in the doorway, baby AJ in her arms.

"What on earth is going on in here?!" she said in a mock stern voice, trading pleased glances with her husband, who had been watching the exchange, a slightly bemused expression on his face; after all however close Harm and Mac had been before, these types of public displays of affection had always been unheard of. Harm stopped his assault on Mac at the sound of their friend's voice, and looked up at her with his most innocent expression and then back down at the girl who was now settling herself quite comfortably on his lap.

"Mac was being mean to me!" he pouted like a little boy. She chuckled and poked him in the stomach,

"I was not!" she claimed, poking her tongue out at him, "I was just telling the truth!" Harm leaned down and gave her a quick kiss, seemingly forgetting that they weren't alone in the room.

"Don't worry honey!" Bud whispered to his wife, "they were just bickering over who is the most responsible! They are going to take AJ out for a walk, I couldn't leave you all on your own slaving away!" Harriet smiled gratefully at her husband,

"Thanks Bud!" she replied, "Shall we go and get AJ ready for his walk?!" she looked at the couple curled up in the armchair, "I think they may have forgotten we are here!" she gestured to the pair who were cuddled up together, talking softly with similarly adoring expressions on their faces.

* * *

Harm and Mac walked contentedly along the path, Mac pushing baby AJ's pram, with Harm's arm slung casually around her shoulders. It was a beautiful fall day, the sun was shining in the nearly clear blue sky, the trees had already started to turn; gold, red and orange leaves sparkled in the sunlight casting red-hued shadows over the path and park which were both dotted with people; adults and children alike, all enjoying the reprieve from everyday life allowed to them by a Public holiday.

AJ started to fuss slightly, and stopping walking, Harm reached into the pram, lifting the little boy out and cradling him in his arms.

"What's up big guy?" he asked rocking him gently as they carried on their way. "Come on, smile for uncle Harm!"

As they walked along, many of the other people in the park noticed them with a smile; they made a very handsome couple, and were obviously very much in love. In short, they were the picture of a perfect family. After a while, they stopped and sat on a bench for a while, chatting happily until they were interrupted by an elderly couple who were sat at the other end of the bench.

"You have a beautiful son," the lady said with a smile, "How old is he?"

"He's not our son," Harm admitted with a charming smile, "He's our godson. He's 13 months old next week, aren't you AJ?" he pulled a funny face at his godson, eliciting a little childlike giggle from him.

"AJ?" the elderly man asked curiously, "what does that stand for?"

"Albert Jethro." Mac replied with a friendly smile, "He's named after our CO, who delivered him."

"CO? So you're Navy?" Harm chuckled,

"I'm Navy, and so are AJ's parents, but Mac here is a Marine." He glanced at his fiancée, "and never lets anyone forget it!" he added with a teasing grin.

"Can it Flyboy!" Mac countered, rolling her eyes at the couple, who were both smiling fondly at them; the couple in front of them reminded them a lot of themselves when they were younger: they were clearly the best of friends who had become more, the easy banter between them giving them away. They chatted together for a few more moments, before Harm said,

"It's been lovely to speak to you, but I'm afraid Sarah and I have to get going; AJ's parents will be wondering where we've got to."

As they walked away Harm smiled down at Mac,

"Will you still love me when I look like that?!" he asked. Mac paused, and pretended to think,

"Hmmm, I don't know…!" she replied teasingly, glancing up at him demurely through her eyelashes. Harm pouted in response, and she couldn't resist leaning up on tiptoe to kiss the expression off his face. Harm was just about to deepen the kiss when they were interrupted by a gasp. They jumped apart a little guiltily, turning to face an unexpected person.

"Renee!" Harm exclaimed, shock evident on his face. "What are you doing here?" He noticed a short man standing at her side, "Cyrus, nice to see you again." He held out his hand. Cyrus took it, slightly nervously. Renee looked from Harm to Mac to baby AJ.

"I see you took my advice!" she said with a slightly bittersweet smile. As they were speaking, Harm could feel Mac getting steadily tenser by the second and he pulled her closer to him, trying to reassure her. She glanced up at him, and smiled briefly, reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ears.

"I see some congratulations are in order!" Renee continued, her eagle eyes spotting the ring on Mac's finger. She smiled genuinely at the pair, holding her own left hand up for them both to see the engagement ring sitting on her finger too.

"And to you it would seem!" Harm managed to stutter, moving forward to give his ex-girlfriend a kiss on the cheek. "Congratulations," he said, "and thank you" he added in a whisper as he pulled back. Renee nodded at him, and turned to Mac, surprising her by pulling her into a brief hug.

"Take good care of him" she murmured softly, feeling the Marine bristle slightly at her words and the insinuation behind them, "I've never seen him look this happy, you look good together." She added, drawing back quickly. At that moment Mac felt a sudden rush of kinship and friendship for Renee, and briefly regretted calling her 'Video Princess' behind her back. Mac managed a genuine smile,

"Congratulations." She said, "I hope you'll be very happy." The foursome stood looking at each other, all slightly uncomfortable, neither one wanting to be the first to move away. Baby AJ, as if sensing the tension started gurgling loudly, startling Harm into action.

"We better get going Sarah," he said, "I think this one is getting hungry, we better get him back to his Mum and Dad's!!" Mac nodded,

"It was nice to see you again Renee." She said politely.

"You too." Renee replied, surprisingly unfazed by the appearance of her ex and his new fiancée. She had realised over the last few weeks how much she had missed Cyrus, and they were close to regaining what they had lost over the last few years, and was glad to see that Harm was truly happy. Deep down inside, she had always known that Harm was never going to be her happy ending; that he had always been attached to someone else: the woman who was now wearing a beautiful engagement ring. "Maybe we could all go out for a drink sometime?" she added.

"That would be lovely." Harm replied automatically, "I'll give you a call sometime."

As they walked away, Harm looked down at his fiancée with a slightly concerned look.

"Are you ok?" he asked

"I'm fine!" Mac replied, hesitating slightly before admitting, "It did throw me off a bit, seeing her. I was surprised that she was so civil, almost friendly! I thought the claws would be out." Harm smiled at that.

"She dumped me remember." He reminded her, "I never told you what she said did I?" Mac shook her head and he carried on, "She told me that she wasn't the one I wanted, and that I owed it to myself and to you to see what was between us." Mac looked genuinely surprised.

"She said that?" she asked, "How is it everyone else seemed to know what was between us before we did ourselves?!"

"Denial could only get us so far ninja girl!" Harm replied with a grin. "Still, we figured it out in the end!" he added after a second, flyboy grin out in full force. He leaned down, pressing his lips against hers.

"And not a moment too soon!" Mac replied with a giggle, as they pulled back grinning at each other like school children. "Come on flyboy, lets get this little one back to Harriet and Bud. The others will be getting here soon."

* * *

Hope you enjoyed it. Let me know!! 


	19. Chapter 19

Here we go: next installment, just a little filler to complete the Columbus day story, I hope you like it.

I like that some of you are beginning to like Renee a bit in this story, I have to admit I didn't like her in the show, but I think that was more because she was standing in the way of Harm and Mac being together, I don't think she is necessarily a bad person so I have done my best to portray her positively.

Enjoy!

* * *

When they got back to Harriet and Bud's, they found that the Admiral, Meredith, Sturgis, and to their surprise, Bobbi Latham, had already arrived. After the initial pleasantries were exchanged, Harm managed to coerce Sturgis away from Bobbi, anxious to get the gossip.

"So you finally asked her out then buddy?!" he asked jokingly, placing strong emphasis on the word 'finally.'

"Oh you're one to talk mate!" Sturgis replied good-naturedly, "It took you _how_ long to tell Mac how you felt?!"

"I had my reasons!" Harm replied in a similar jokey tone, "Is this your first date?" Sturgis rolled his eyes at him, _Really, _he thought, _Harm is just like a gossipy schoolgirl at times! _

"Not that it's really your business, but no it isn't, we've had a nice couple of dinners together." He replied with a grin, glancing over at his date and rolling his eyes at her once he caught her eye. At that moment, they were interrupted by the Admiral and Meredith who had come over to see what they were talking about.

"What are you two doing skulking in the corner?!" Meredith asked with a grin, "I thought it was the women who were supposed to gossip in the corner?!" Harm chuckled and gestured over to his fiancée, who was standing chatting excitedly to Harriet,

"It seems you are right." He said, smiling warmly; the group laughed at that, it was well known amongst the JAG family that Harriet was the office gossip.

"If you'll excuse me," Sturgis said, as Bobbi caught his eye once again, trying to get him to join her and he slipped away from the group to joined Bobbi, who had been standing talking to Bud.

* * *

"So Harm," Meredith said, smiling up at the tall Naval aviator in front of her, "I hear some congratulations are in order." Harm smiled and blushed, unconsciously glancing over at Mac as he did so. "It's a beautiful ring." She continued, noting his actions with amusement.

"Thanks," Harm replied, "It was my Grandmother's."

"Have you set a date yet?" AJ asked

"For the wedding?" Harm smiled, he knew that they were going to get that question a few more times before this evening was up. "We have decided that it will be either next fall or the following spring. We want to enjoy our new relationship for a while before we take the next step. But don't worry, you guys will be the first to know when we do decide a date."

"Make sure you do." AJ said sternly, his eyes twinkling, letting Harm know that he was only joking.

"Yes sir" Harm replied a little bit nervously. However much he knew his CO was joking, he also knew how much AJ cared for Mac, and was not keen to get on his bad side. "We are going up to visit my Grandmother this weekend, we're going to fly Sarah up instead of driving," he grinned mischievously at Mac who had just come up to join them, baby AJ in her arms, "Mac's made me promise not to do any barrel rolls, but I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to resist!"

"You better not flyboy, or you'll be returning the ring to your grandmother once we arrive!" Mac threatened, her eyes sparkling with laughter. Harm theatrically put his hands to his chest in mock alarm,

"You wound me ninja girl!" he said, much to the amusement of the assembled group, "I guess we're just going to have to have a nice boring flight then!" Their bickering was interrupted by AJ who said,

"I didn't realise that you had named your Stearman after the Colonel?" he sounded surprised. Harm grinned,

"It's after my Grandmother Sir," he admitted, "although I might have to change that story, it might earn me points as the cute fiancé!" he added with an impish grin, glancing at Mac who rolled her eyes at him.

"It'll take you more than that to give you points in Chloe's eyes you know! Even though she'll be thrilled, she'll still be mad at you y'know." Harm pouted,

"Nah, Chloe loves me!" he replied cockily, amused to see Mac roll her eyes at him once again,

"Uncle Harm's a little full of himself isn't he AJ?!" she said, addressing the gurgling baby in her arms and pointedly ignoring the sailor standing next to her. Little AJ let out a little baby laugh at the faces Mac was pulling at him.

"Hey!" Harm protested with a laugh, "stop trying to turn my godson against me!" he reached his hands out to his godson, who made to grab at them, "do you want to go flying AJ?" he asked, reaching down to lift the little boy easily out from Mac's arms. "Pilot ready for take off?" he asked, in a deep booming voice, bouncing AJ up and down slightly, much to the excitement to the baby. "And lift off, in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 go!" he carried on in a similar voice, lifting AJ gently above his head, pretending he was in an aeroplane. (**an: I know AJ is only little, but my Uncle used do a similar thing with my little baby cousin who loved it!)**

AJ, Meredith, and Mac watched in amusement, as the usually serious naval officer played with his godson like a little kid, eliciting little giggles of excitement from baby AJ.

"He's going to make a wonderful father!" Meredith sighed softly, glancing slyly at Mac who was watching him with a gentle expression on her face.

"Yeah" she agreed absently, her mind flashing back to when AJ was born and the deal they had made. How much their lives had changed since then!

"Mac," Meredith said, a little concerned at her lack of response, "are you still with us honey?" Mac started slightly,

"Sorry Meredith, I was miles away." She replied, blushing slightly,

"Need I ask where?!" Meredith asked cheekily, with a knowing nod in Harm's direction.

"I was thinking back to when little AJ was born." Mac admitted with a smile, "Have you heard this story?"

"Bits of it," Meredith replied, "I know that he was born in AJ's office." Mac smiled at the memory.

"That he was. It was quite possibly the most terrifying moment of my life, and Harriet's of course! After we got out, Harm and I made a deal; if neither of us were in a relationship in 5 years time then we would have a baby together." Meredith did a double take,

"I'm sorry, you agreed to what now?!" she asked, completely shocked. Mac shrugged, opening her mouth to repeat herself, "I heard what you said Mac!" Meredith continued quickly, "I'm just wondering how it took you this long to get to this point!"

"What do you mean?" Mac asked, not quite getting what was so shocking; she and Harm had been best friends for ages after all.

"You two planned to have a baby together!" Meredith exclaimed, "if that wasn't an admission of love than I don't know what is!"

"What's an admission of love?" Harriet asked as she and Bud joined the pair. Meredith hesitated slightly, unsure of how much that was public knowledge. Mac, seeing her hesitation nodded at her to continue which she did with a small smile.

"These two," she pointed at Mac and Harm, who was still playing with baby AJ and his namesake on the other side of the room. "agreeing to have a baby together once AJ is five if neither of them were in a relationship."

"You did what?!" Harriet exclaimed in excitement.

"Harriet," Mac said softly, "keep your voice down a little will you?!" she looked pleadingly at her friend, more than a little embarrassed.

"But, but, but…!" Harriet stuttered, obviously completely shocked by the news. She looked at her husband who carried on for her.

"If you could agree to that then how did it take you guys this long to get to this point?!" he asked, the tips of his ears turning pink at being so intrusive into their friend's lives, but he just had to know. Mac shrugged her shoulders again,

"We just weren't ready to admit anything yet I guess." She said softly, turning her attention back to watching her fiancé with their godson.

"I just can't believe it!" Harriet said, "That is just the sweetest thing I have ever heard." She smiled at Mac, "It's like it was meant to be!" Mac blushed again.

"How long until the 'look how oblivious Harm and Mac were' conversations stop?!" she asked good-naturedly, glancing accusingly at her friends.

"Oh, I think you'll have to put up with them for a good deal longer!" Harriet replied with a grin, "its reflective of just HOW oblivious the two of you were!" They all laughed at that,

"Fair enough." She admitted with a small smile.

* * *

The rest of the evening passed by quickly, once Tiner and Victor Galindez had made their appearance and they sat down to eat Harriet's delicious meal. Harm and Mac were one of the first to leave in the end, looking forward to getting back to Mac's flat so they could spend some quality time together, away from the scrutiny of their friends. They loved them all dearly, but they both found the continued study of their lives a little bit wearing.

"That was nice." Mac said, swallowing a yawn as Harm navigated his car back towards Georgetown. "It was great to spend some time with AJ, I can't believe how much he has grown recently." Harm nodded,

"I can't believe he is over a year old already!" he agreed. He glanced over at her, "You look tired honey, are you ok?"

"I'm fine Harm," Mac said, "It's just been a busy week, and I'm a little nervous about meeting your grandmother this weekend that's all." Harm smiled, and reached out to grab her hand in his own.

"You don't need to be nervous, Sarah, she's going to love you. In fact I think she has already heard so much about you that she already does!" Mac smiled gratefully at him,

"Sorry," she said, "I know I'm being a little irrational, but I never really had grandparents growing up so I don't know what to expect." Harm chuckled,

"Well I can tell you what to expect: to be fed lots of good food, she'll do her best to feed you up in the two days we are there, to be asked repeatedly when she will be a great grandma, and when, how we met and I proposed etc!" Mac had to laugh at that,

"Fairly similar to a conversation with Harriet then!" she said with a wry smile.

* * *

Thank you all for reading, I hope you found it to your liking! i know it ended quickly, but i wasn't sure where else to take this chapter so i figured leaving it there was a good place to stop. Next up is the trip to grandma sarah's.

All reviews welcomed :o)


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